0?e  NATIONAL  CAPITAL 

CODEof  ETIQUETTE 

COMBINED  WITH 

SILAS  X.  FLOYD'S 

SHORT  STORIES 


DEDICATEDUteCOLORED  RACE 


ICIIIY 

!ARY 

*SITY  OP 
ORNIA 


SILAS  X.  FLOYD,  AUGUSTA,  GA. 

Corresponding  Secretary  National  Association  of  Teachers  in 
Colored  Schools. 


SILAS  X.  FLOYD'S 

SHORT  STORIES 

for 

COLORED  PEOPLE 

BOTH  OLD  AND  YOUNG 
Entertaining       Uplifting       Interesting 

PROF.  SILAS  X.  FLOYD,  A.  M.,  D.  D., 

Author  of  "The  Gospel  of  Serv'ce  and  other  Sermons,"  "Life  of 
Charles  T.  Walker,  D.  D.,"  "National  Perils,"  etc. 

ILLUSTRATED 


Published  by 

AUSTIN  JENKINS  CO., 
BOOK  AND  BIBLE  PUBLISHERS 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


AGENTS  WANTED 


COPYRIGHTED  1905 

BY 
HERTEL  JENKINS  &  CO. 

COPYRIGHTED  1920 

BY 
A.  N.  JENKINS 


CAUTION 

The  entire  contents  of  this  book  are 
protected  by  the  stringent  new  copyright 
law,  and  all  persons  are  warned  not  to 
attempt  to  reproduce  the  text,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  or  any  of  the  specially  posed 
illustrations 


PEEFACE. 

Truly  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day  ought  to  be 
thankful  that  they  are  alive.  There  never  was 
such  a  golden  age  for  childhood  and  youth  as  the 
present.  To  say  nothing  of  the  rich  opportunities 
for  mental  and  spiritual  development,  what  a 
multitude  of  things  have  been  provided  for  the 
innocent  pleasure,  the  wholesome  recreation  of 
the  young  people  of  to-day;  inventions  that 
remind  one  of  the  magic  of  the  "Arabian 
Nights";  tools  of  sport  so  perfect  that  one  can- 
not imagine  how  they  could  be  bettered;  fascinat- 
ing games,  all  unknown  in  the  days  gone  by; 
books  and  papers  upon  which  science,  .art  and 
literary  skill  have  lavished  modern  resources  — 
all  these  and  many  other  wonderful  things  have 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  favored  boys  and  girls  of 
to-day. 

And  now  enterprising  publishers  of  our  grand 
country  are  going  to  put  the  boys  and 
girls  of  America  —  and  especially  the  colored 
boys  and  girls  of  America  —  under  obligation  to 
them,  because  they  have  decided  to  add  to  the 
list  of  good  books  for  children  and  youths 
already  on  the  market.  I  use  the  word  "good" 
advisedly;  for  from  the  day  that  I  was  engaged 
to  write  this  book  I  have  had  in  mind  constantly 
the  thought  of  making  it  such  a  book  as  would 

5 


6  PREFACE. 

tell  for  good.  It  is  an  old  saying  that  ''evil  com- 
munications corrupt  good  manners, "  but  evil 
reading  does  more  than  this:  for  evil  reading- 
corrupts  good  morals. 

I  have  endeavored  to  put  into  this  book  of 
stories  for  children  only  such  things  as  might  be 
freely  admitted  into  the  best  homes  of  the  land, 
and  I  have  written  with  the  hope  that  many 
young  minds  may  be  elevated  by  means  of  these 
stories  and  many  hearts  filled  with  high  and  holy 
aspirations.  Our  nation  has  a  right  to  expect 
that  our  boys  and  girls  shall  turn  out  to  be  good 
men  and  good  women,  and  this  book  is  meant  to 
help  in  this  processc 

SILAS  X.  FLOYD. 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE. 


The  publishers  of  this  book  have  spared  neither 
pains  nor  expense  in  trying  to  make  it  as  nearly 
perfect  as  a  book  of  this  kind  can  be.  The  typo- 
graphical appearance  and  the  illustrations  will 
speak  for  themselves. 

We  consider  ourselves  fortunate  in  having 
been  able  to  secure  the  services  of  the  Rev,  Dr. 
Silas  X.  Floyd  as  the  author  of  this  volume.  Mr. 
Floyd's  life  work,  aside  from  his  literary  training, 
has  made  him  the  ideal  man  to  speak  to  the 
colored  boys  and  girls  of  the  South.  Soon  after 
graduating  from  Atlanta  University  in  1891,  Mr. 
Floyd  became  Principal  of  a  Public  School  at 
Augusta,  Ga.,  and  remained  in  that  city  for  five 
years  consecutively  as  a  teacher.  In  June,  1896, 
he  was  called  from  the  school-room  into  the  Sun- 
day-school work,  having  been  appointed  by  the 
International  Sunday  School  Convention  as  one 
of  its  Field  Workers  throughout  the  South.  He 
continued  in  this  work  for  three  years,  retiring 
from  it  to  become  Pastor  of  Tabernacle  Baptist 
Church,  Augusta,  Ga.,  one  of  the  largest  churches 
in  the  South.  After  a  year  and  a  half  in  the  pas- 
torate, he  returned  to  the  Sunday-school  work, 
becoming  Sunday-school  Missionary  for  Georgia 
and  Alabama  under  appointment  of  the  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society. 


8  PUBLISHER'S  NOTE. 

Mr.  Floyd 's  work,  as  the  record  shows,  has 
been  conspicuously  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  he  is  known  far  and  wide  as  a  compe- 
tent writer  and  speaker  on  topics  concerning 
young  people.  He  has  contributed  to  the  Sunday 
School  Times,  the  International  Evangel,  the  New 
York  Independent,  The  World's  Work,  Lippin- 
cott's  Magazine,  and  many  other  journals  and 
periodicals.  He  is  the  author  of  a  volume  of  ser- 
mons published  by  the  American  Baptist  Publi-* 
cation  Society,  and  listed  in  their  catalogue  as 
among  their  standard  works,  and  is  also  the 
author  of  the  Life  of  the  leading  colored  Baptist 
preacher  in  America,  published  by  the  National 
Baptist  Publishing  Board.  From  the  beginning 
of  the  Voice  of  the  Negro,  Mr.  Floyd  has  had 
charge  of  the  Wayside  Department  as  Editor, 
and  his  work  a"s  a  humorist  and  writer  of  negro 
dialect  is  known  to  many  through  that  medium. 

In  1894,  Atlanta  University,  his  alma  mater, 
conferred  upon  Mr.  Floyd  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts,  and  in  1902,  Morris  Brown  College  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divniity. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  COWARDLY  HERO 17 

A  SPELLING  LESSON 22 

THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  LUCK 31 

AN  EVENING  AT  HOME 35 

THE  MAKING  OF  A  MAN. 38 

FALSE  PRIDE 42 

THANKSGIVING  AT  PINEY  GROVE 46 

THE   LOUD   GIRL 55 

THE  ROWDY  BOY 60 

HONESTY 62 

UNCLE  NED  AND  THE  INSURANCE  SOLICITOR 65 

THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE 70 

A  HUMBUG 73 

How  TO  BE  HANDSOME 76 

PATIENCE 78 

GOING  WITH  THE  CROWD 81 

MARY  AND  HER  DOLLS 85 

JAKY  TOLBERT'S  PLAYMATES 88 

A  VALENTINE  PARTY 92 

No  MONEY  DOWN 95 

TOMMY'S  BABY  BROTHER 99 

KEEPING  SCHOOL  102 

9 


10  CONTENTS 

PAGE 
^HB  SCHOOL  OF  THE  STREET 105 

THE  Fox  HUNT 109 

A  BOLD  VENTURE 114 

THE  ROAD  TO  SUCCESS 117 

KEEPING  ONES  ENGAGEMENTS 120 

A  MIDNIGHT  MISHAP 122 

FREDERICK  DOUGLASS 124 

OUR  DUMB  ANIMALS 127 

A  PLUCKY  BOY 129 

A  HEART  TO  HEART  TALK 132 

A  GHOST  STORY 135 

GOOD  CHEER  141 

LIFE  A  BATTLE 144 

HUNTING  AN  EASY  PLACE 149 

THE  BIG  BLACK  BURGLAR 153 

PIN  MONEY  MADE  WITH  THE  NEEDLE 156 

SELF-HELP  160 

AIMING  AT  SOMETHING 165 

THE  BLACK  SHEEP  OF  THE  REYNOLDS  FAMILY 167 

THE  HOLY  BIBLE , 175 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE'S  ADVICE  TO  YOUNG  MEN 178 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  GENTLEMEN 179 

THE  RIGHT  TO  PLAY 181 

A  CHRISTMAS  PRESENT „   183 


CONTENTS.  11 

PAGE 

THE  NICKEL  THAT  BURNED  IN  FRANK'S  POCKET.  . . .  185 

MONUMENT  TO  A  BLACK  MAN 188 

THE  BAD  BOY — WHO  HE  Is 190 

THE  BAD  BOY — How  TO  HELP  HIM 193 

THOMAS  GREENE  BETHUNE  ("BLIND  TOM") 197 

NOT  FIT  TO  KNOW 200 

THE  RIGHT  WAY 202 

KEEPING  FRIENDSHIP  IN  REPAIR 205 

LITTLE  ANNIE'S  CHRISTMAS. 208 

THE  VELOCIPEDE  RACE. 211 

FAULT-FINDING  213 

RANDOM  REMARKS 216 

BENJAMIN  BANNEKER,  THE  NEGRO  ASTRONOMER.  . .  .  220 

"A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM" 224 

DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  LADIES 230 

THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE 232 

"A  LAMP  UNTO  MY  FEET".  , 238 

THE  THREE  BRIGADES , '..... 241 

"HOME,  SWEET  HOME" 243 

EACH  ONE  OP  Us  OP  IMPORTANCE 247 

THE  POETRY  OP  LIFE 248 

ON  BEING  IN  EARNEST 250 

YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  LIFE  INSURANCE 252 

THE  LITTLE  SAILOR  CAT.  .                            .....        .  255 


12  CONTENTS. 

» 

PAGE 
ADVICE  TO  LITTLE  CHRISTIANS 257 

A  WORD  TO  PARENTS 259 

THE  UNSEEN  CHARMER 262 

OUR  COUNTRY 265 

THE  "DON'T-CARE"  GIRL 267 

FREDERICK  DOUGLASS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE 270 

A  GOOD  FELLOW 274 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  NEGRO r . . 275 

THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN o .....        .   277 


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"GREAT  HEAVENS,  THE  BRUTE  is  MAD,"  GASPED  EVANS. 


THE  COWARDLY  HERO. 

George  Washington  Jones  was  his  name. 
Where  he  got  it  nobody  knew, — least  of  all  him- 
self. For  two  years  he  had  sold  newspapers  one 
block  from  the  big  St.  Charles  Hotel  in  New 
Orleans.  Very  slender,  with  great  big  hungry 
eyes,  this  little  colored  waif  presented  a  pitiful 
sight  to  the  crowds  that  hurried  by.  He  was 
scorned  by  the  other  newsboys,  who  yelled  and 
j  erred  at  him,  causing  him  to  shrink  up  even 
smaller  and  to  glance  fearfully  at  his  tormentors, 
for  George  was  what  the  other  boys  called  a 
coward.  He  would  not  fight, — when  attacked  and 
imposed  upon  by  his  more  sturdy  associates  he 
would  throw  up  his  hands  and  cower  down  against 
the  ground  like  a  whipped  dog.  All  boys  know 
what  this  means, — for  months  he  was  the  mark 
for  all  of  the  coarse  jokes  and  abuse  of  the  rather 
rough  lot  of  boys  who  were  also  engaged  in  the 
newspaper  selling  business  thereabouts.  He  had 
lived  ever  since  he  remembered  with  an  old  colored 
man  in  a  wretched  attic  over  on  the  South  Side, — 
the  old  man  was  a  rag  peddler  and  permitted  him 
to  share  his  miserable  quarters  for  the  payment  of 
fifty  cents  every  Saturday  night.  Poor  food  and 
poorer  sleeping  quarters  had  their  effect,  and 
George  soon  developed  a  hacking  cough  that 
made  people  turn  their  heads  to  see  who  it  was 

17 


18  THE  COWARDLY  HEKO 

and  then  hurry  on  faster  than  ever.  One  cold 
morning  in  December,  while  George  stood  shiv- 
ering on  his  corner,  scarcely  able  to  shout  loud 
enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  passers  by, 
a  lady  about  to  enter  an  automobile  glanced  at 
him,  noted  pityingly  his  emaciated  and  half- 
starved  appearance,  and  the  cough  that  wracked 
his  slight  frame, — she  stepped  up  and  asked  him 
his  name  and  address,  which  he  gave,  gazing  in 
spell-bound  admiration  at  this  beautiful,  fairy-like 
creature  from  a  different  world. 

It  so  happened  that  this  young  lady's  father 
was  a  very  influential  man,  and  so  in  course  of 
time  the  lady  who  had  in  the  meantime  called 
several  times  at  George's  wretched  quarters,  with 
eggs  and  milk  and  other  dainties,  prevailed  upon 
him  to  arrange  for  George  to  spend  the  spring 
and  summer  in  the  country. 

So  one  bright  day  in  April,  George  arrived  at  a 
big  Louisiana  plantation  where  he  was  to  have 
good  food  and  clothes,  and  when  able,  to  do  odd 
jobs  and  chores  about  the  place  to  pay  for  his 
board.  The  Grahams  were  a  couple  who  had  been 
married  seven  or  eight  years  and  who  had  a  little 
daughter  of  six  who  was  a  dainty  and  pretty  little 
miss,  somewhat  spoiled,  but  naturally  kind  and 
good-hearted.  To  George  she  was  the  most  beau- 
tiful thing  he  had  ever  seen,  an  angel,  not  to  be 
thought  of  at  the  same  time  with  earthly  things. 
He  soon  became  her  devoted  slave,  following  her 


THE  COWARDLY  HERO.  19 

about  and  trying  to  think  of  something  he  could 
do  that  would  make  her  happy. 

Now  George  did  not  change  in  the  first  few 
weeks  of  his  stay  with  the  Grahams.  He  was 
afraid  of  the  cows,  of  the  horses,  even  of  the 
geese  that  ran  around  the  yard.  Little  Louise, 
who  had  been  raised  in  the  country,  could  not 
understand  this  feeling  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
let  George  know  that  she  had  nothing  but  con- 
tempt for  his  running  wildly  away  from  an  in- 
offensive cow  who  happened  to  turn  her  head  in 
his  direction. 

"But,  dearest,"  her  mother  said,  "he  has  never 
even  seen  a  cow  before.  To  him  that  cow  is  only 
an  awfully  dangerous  thing  with  horns,  a  long 
tail  and  big  mouth. ' ' 

"Oh,  but  mamma,  he  is  such  an  awful  fraid 
cat, — whoever  heard  of  getting  scared  at  a  lot  of 
silly  geese?"  , 

"Yes,  I  fear  he  is  a  hopeless  coward,"  said 
Mrs.  Graham,  "but  he  certainly  does  work  well." 

But  the  one  thing  that  George  feared  above  all 
other  things  was  the  dog  that  lived  on  the  Evans 
place  next  door.  There  was  considerable  excuse 
for  this  fear,  as  the  dog  was  a  surly  and  some- 
what dangerous  brute,  an  immense  Great  Dane, 
who  had  no  love  nor  respect  for  any  living" thing 
except  his  master.  He  seemed  to  take  a  savage 
delight  in  dashing  to  the  fence  and  making  stren- 
uous efforts  to  jump  over  and  attack  poor  George 
whenever  he  had  to  pass  by.  On  such  occasions, 


20  THE  COWARDLY  HERO. 

George  would  shriek  and  dash  wildly  up  the  road, 
screaming  in  terror, — he  feared  the  Great  Dane 
more  than  anything  else  on  earth. 

The  days  and  weeks  slipped  by  until  the  month 
of  August.  There  had  been  a  long  dry  spell; 
everything  was  hot,  parched  and  burning  up,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  earth  was  crying  out  for  rain. 
Every  one  was  cross  and  irritable  and  although  not 
meaning  to  be  unreasonable,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gra- 
ham took  considerable  of  their  irritation  out  on 
our  little  colored  friend  George, — he  was  ordered 
about  and  shouted  at  to  move  faster  and  scolded 
and  generally  made  the  target  for  the  ill  humor 
of  the  entire  household. 

For  some  days  the  Great  Dane  had  been  acting 
strangely, — no  one  dared  to  approach  him,  and  on 
one  occasion  he  even  snapped  at  his  master. 

" Guess  I'll  chain  him  up  until  the  rain  sets  in," 
said  Mr.  Evans.  However,  the  dog  refused  to  be 
tied,  avoiding  his  master  and  snapping  whenever 
he  approached.  Suddenly  he  gave  a  roar  and 
sprang  right  at  Mr.  Evans '  throat, — the  man 
tripped  and  fell,  which  was  the  best  thing  he  could 
possibly  have  done  under  the  circumstances,  as 
the  dog  ignored  him,  and,  snapping  right  and  left, 
dashed  out  of  the  gate  and  down  the  road  towards 
the  Graham  place. 

" Great  Heavens!  The  brute  is  mad!"  gasped 
Evans. 

If  any  one  has  seen  a  dog  go  mad,  he  will  testify 
that  it  is  not  a  pretty  sight.  The  maddened  ani- 


THE  COWARDLY  HERO.  21 

mal  raced  at  top  speed  along  the  road,-  snapping 
wildly  at  sticks  and  stones  along  the  way,  with 
froth  and  foam  flying  from  his  mouth,  his  mam- 
moth jaws  closing  and  unclosing  like  the  teeth  of 
an  enormous  trap. 

Straight  down  the  road  and  straight  through 
the  gate  that  opened  into  the  Graham  yard  dashed 
the  enormous  Great  Dane — he  was  a  hideous 
sight  to  the  bravest;  what  he  looked  like  to  George 
no  one  will  ever  know.  Graham,  sitting  on  the 
porch,  realized  in  an  instant  what  had  happened, 
and  sprang  to  the  dining-room  to  get  his  rifle,— 
right  in  the  path  was  little  Louise,  with  her  dolls, 
sitting  around  a  little  table,  in  the  midst  of  a  party 
—she  rose  to  her  feet,  the  great  frenzied  brute  but 
a  few  yards  distant, her  face  paling,  her  lips  unable 
to  utter  a  sound.  Graham  wa£  quick,  but  not 
quick  enough, — the  dog  would  be  upon  the  child 
before  he  could  possibly  get  ready  to  shoot,  but 
quicker  than  Graham,  quicker  than  the  dog,  was 
George, — what  he  felt,  what  he  suffered  in  those 
few  seconds,  the  Lord  alone  can  tell — with  a  wild 
scream,  he  threw  himself  right  in  the  path  of  the 
maddened  Great  Dane,  right  at  his  throat,  shriek- 
ing and  striking  wildly  with  both  clenched  fists 
at  the  huge  head  and  body  of  the  dog.  With  a 
snarl,  the  dog  turned  and  caught  the  negro  boy, — 
but  it  was  here  that  Providence  took  a  hand,  for 
he  grabbed  not  George  himself,  but  his  coat,  worn 
and  shabby  from  much  use,  and  the  coat  came  off 
in  his  jaws, — before  the  dog  could  turn  and  renew 


22  THE  COWARDLY  HERO. 

the  attack,  Mr.  Graham  shot  twice  rapidly  from 
the  porch  and  the  dog  fell,  writhing  terribly  in  his 
death  agonies. 

White  as  a  sheet,  Graham  ran  quickly  down  the 
path  and  snatched  Louise  up  in  his  arms, — but 
Mrs.  Graham,  who  had  been  an  agonized  eye- 
witness of  the  near-tragedy,  was  almost  as  quick 
to  reach  George — throwing  her  arms  around  him, 
she  sobbed,  ' '  God  bless  you,  George ;  that  was  the 
bravest  thing  I  ever  saw." 

And  in  this  way,  George,  the  despised  and  ig- 
nored newsboy,  who  had  always  been  called  a 
coward,  came  into  his  own.  Such  is  true  courage. 
Poor  boy,  he  was  afraid,  fearfully,  awfully  afraid ! 
But  he  did  not  hesitate  to  risk  everything  to  save 
the  golden-haired  little  daughter  of  his  employer. 

George  still  remains  on  the  Graham  plantation, 
but  you  would  scarcely  know  him — he  coughs  no 
longer;  he  stands  erect  and  is  becoming  strong 
and  sturdy;  he  has  found  himself,  and  no  one 
will  ever  again  have  cause  to  say  to  him,  "You 
coward !" 


THE  GEEAT  SPELLING  MATCH. 

There  was  no  doubt  about  it, — of  all  the  little 
colored  boys  and  girls  who  went  to  the  Peabody 
school,  Margaret  was  the  dullest.  Her  teacher 
said  so,  her  friends  said  so,  her  parents  were  of 
the  same  opinion,  and  if  asked  herself,  Margaret 


24  THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH. 

would  undoubtedly  have  frankly  acknowledged 
that  her  undisputed  and  proper  place  was  at  the 
foot  of  the  class.  Her  brother  Charles,  who  was 
one  year  younger  than  she,  had  proudly  grad- 
uated from  the  fifth  grade  and  was  making  rapid 
progress  in  the  sixth.  He  did  not  spend  one-half 
the  time  studying  that  Margaret  did,  and  yet  when 
it  came  time  for  recitations,  he  would  stand  up 
and  recite  in  a  manner  that  warmed  his  teacher's 
heart  and  made  him  the  envy  of  most  all  of  his 
schoolmates. 

If  Margaret  was  backward  in  her  studies,  little 
Mable  Green  certainly  was  not.  Arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy, writing,  reading,  she  excelled  in  all  of  them. 
She  was  a  very  bright  little  colored  girl  and  a 
very  good  looking  one,  too.  Mable  knew  this  just 
as  well  as  all  of  the  boys  and  girls  did, — she  was 
not  exactly  foolish  and  vain,  but  she  had  been  so 
praised  and  petted  by  her  school  friends  and 
teachers  that  she  was  inclined  to  be  a  little  con- 
ceited, what  we  all  would  call  " stuck  up."  Once 
a  month  a  prize  was  given  for  the  scholar  who 
stood  highest  in  certain  studies,  and  Mable  had 
twice  been  the  successful  pupil, — she  had  two 
highly  prized  silver  medals  to  show  for  her  skill. 

Now  one  of  the  members  of  the  school  board 
was  a  farmer  about  forty  years  of  age,  kind- 
hearted,  but  a  little  old-fashioned.  He  believed 
in  boys  and  girls  knowing  how  to  read  and  write 
and  spell  correctly,  but  he  did  not  care  for  what 
he  called  the  "new-f angled "  ideas  of  some  of  the 


THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH.  25 

* 

other  members  of  the  board.  He  was  very  much 
opposed  to  a  course  in  music  and  elocution  that 
was  being  considered  by  the  school  board,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  let  every  one  know  how  he  felt 
about  it.  Now  he  knew  Mable  and  liked  her — he 
was  very  much  interested  in  the  way  in  which  she 
stood  at  the  head  of  her  classes  and  wanted  to  do 
something  to  encourage  her  in  sticking  to  the 
old-fashioned  forms  of  education.  He  thought 
over  this  for  a  long  time,  and  finally  decided  to 
hold  a  spelling  match.  Now  you  all  probably 
know  what  a  spelling  match  is.  Two  sides  are 
chosen  who  stand  up  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
room,  and  the  teacher  give  out  words,  commencing 
at  the  head  of  the  row, — any  one  who  misses  a 
word  has  to  sit  down,  and  the  last  one  to  stand 
up  wins  the  prize  for  his  side,  also  is  pronounced 
the  best  speller  and  gets  the  personal  prize. 

-The  board  all  thought  this  a  fine  scheme,  and  so 
it  was  decided  to  hold  the  spelling  match  on 
Thanksgiving  evening  at  the  schoolhouse.  The 
teacher  was  to  pronounce  the  words,  while  the 
members  of  the  board  were  to  give  her  lists  of 
words  from  which  to  choose. 

"What  are  you  going  to  give  for  a  prize,  Mr. 
Edwards?"  asked  the  teacher. 

"Well,  I  thought  I  would  give  twenty  dollars, " 
replied  the  man.  "Yes,  I  rather  plan  to  give  a 
bright  twenty-dollar  gold  piece. " 

The  news  spread  like  wild  fire.  Never  had  there 
been  such  excitement.  This  was  a  small  fortune, 


26  THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH. 

and  Mable 's  mother  pinned  a  bright  red  bow  in 
her  hair,  and  put  on  her  prettiest  frock, — Mable 
had  already  considered  the  prize  as  won, — in  fact, 
she  had  planned  just  how  she  would  spend  it, — 
she  was  a  good  speller  and  felt  confident  that  she 
could  win. 

The  night  arrived,  bright  and  crisp  November 
weather,  with  a  bright  moon  overhead, — the  little 
schoolhouse  was  packed.  It  was  decided  that  alj 
children  in  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  grades 
would  be  allowed  to  compete.  Now,  Margaret  had 
been  in  a  highly  excited  state  ever  since  hearing  of 
the  contest — strange  to  say,  she  was  a  good 
speller.  It  has  often  been  said,  and  quite  cor- 
rectly, too,  that  spelling  is  a  gift, — that  some  peo- 
ple spell  correctly  quite  naturally,  while  no  amount 
of  study  or  practice  can  make  a  good  speller  out 
of  any  one  who  was  born  with  a  head  that  ached 
and  throbbed  at  the  mere  thought  of  spelling. 
She  had  never  had  fifty  cents  of  her  own  in  her 
whole  life — twenty  dollars  in  gold — it  did  not 
seem  possible  that  there  could  be  that  much 
money  in  the  whole  world. 

Sides  were  chosen  and  Margaret  was  almost 
hidden  by  fat  Eeggie  Andrews,  who  stood  next  to 
her.  Mable  was  right  across  the  room  from  her, 
and  smiled  in  a  somewhat  scornful  manner  at  the 
girl  she  thought  was  a  "  dummy. " 

The  teacher  began  to  pronounce  the  words  and 
you  could  have  almost  heard  a  pin  drop ;  the  first 
few  times  around  but  few  scholars  dropped  out, 


THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH.  27 

Reggie  going  down  the  third  time  on  "mucilage." 
Margaret  gave  a  sigh  of  relief — Reggie  had  made 
her  very  nervous. 

Nothing  happened  that  amounted  to  much  until 
the  teacher  began  to  give  out  words  containing 
"ie"  and  "ei."  Now  these  words  are  very  diffi- 
cult unless  a  speller  knows  the  rule — "ie"  is  al- 
most always  used  except  after  the  letter  "c," — 
following  this  letter  "c,"  it  is  always  "ei."  Mar- 
garet had  learned  this  rule  in  the  second  grade, 
and  these  words  had  no  terror  for  her — she  was 
gaining  confidence  now  and  the  audience  began  to 
sit  up  and  take  notice.  Soon  but  five  were  left 
standing, — three  on  Margaret's  side  and  only 
Mable  and  one  little  colored  boy  on  the  other.  It 
seemed  for  a  time  that  these  five  would  have  to 
divide  the  prize, — word  after  word  was  spelled 
and  no  one  missed — the  audience  was  hanging 
spellbound  on  every  syllable,  and  the  dignified 
members  of  the  board  were  trying  to  act  naturally, 
although  in  reality,  greatly  wrought  up. 

"Exhaustible,"  suddenly  said  the  teacher. 

There  was  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  then  Ann 
Houston,  on  Margaret's  side  glibly  said: 

"E-x-a-u-s-t-i-b-1-e." 

"Wrong;  be  seated,"  and  with  much  sniffling 
and  rubbing  her  eyes,  Ann  walked  sorrowfully  to 
her  seat. 

The  boy  on  Mable 's  side  shuffled  his  feet,  looked 
up,  down  and  around  the  room,  and  finally  blurted 
put: 


28  THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH. 

"E-x-h-a-u-s-t-a-b-1-e." 

"Wrong!"  and  Bobbie  joined  Ann  in  sorrowful 
silence. 

Eose  Holcomb,  the  one  remaining  girl  on  Mar- 
garet's side,  had  become  rattled — she  rolled  her 
eyes  wildly  up  and  down  and  then  guessed, — she 
made  a  very  bad  guess. 

"E-c-h-o-s-t-i-b-l-e!"  and  Eose  was  also  counted 
out  and  took  her  seat,  tossing  her  head  and  looking 
indifferently  around. 

It  was  now  Mable 's  turn,  and  she  had  sufficient 
intelligence  to  have  profited  by  the  experience  of 
Ann  and  Bobbie — had  the  word  been  pronounced 
to  her  first,  she  would  probably  have  misspelled 
it,  but  now  she  spelled  it  out  firmly  and  confident- 
ly, letter  for  letter,  without  a  hitch. 

Now  Mable  faced  Margaret  for  the  final  test — 
both  were  greatly  excited,  but  their  nervousness 
had  passed — it  was  now  that  Margaret's  natural 
ability  came  to  her  aid.  Word  after  word  she 
spelled,  and  the  crowd  watched  her  in  amazement. 
Here  was  the  supposedly  dull  and  backward  pupil, 
the  recognized  "foot  of  the  class, "  standing  up 
gallantly  to  the  last  against  Mable,  the  favorite,  to 
whom  everybody  had  conceded  the  prize  as  al- 
ready won. 

The  largest  cities  in  America,  in  South  America 
and  Europe,  proper  names,  animals, — the  words 
became  more  and  more  difficult.  Finally,  the 
names  of  flowers  were  given — Mable  had  studied 
botany  and  was  familiar  with  flowers — Margaret 


THE  GREAT  SPELLING  MATCH.  29 

was  now  relying  on  her  natural  ability  and  nerve 
—all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  at  last  the  teacher 
pronounced  the  name  of  the  flower — 

"F-U-C-H-S-I-A." 

Now  it  is  a  fact  that  there  is  probably  no  more 
tricky  word  in  the  English  language  than  this — it 
all  depends  upon  where  to  place  the  letter  "s." 
Mable  knew  what  fuchsias  were, — knew  all  about 
the  different  parts,  the  petals,  the  stem, — she  had 
spelled  the  word  correctly  many  times,  but,  alas, 
she  was  a  trifle  hasty  and  exclaimed : 

"F-U-S-C-H-I-A." 

"  Wrong !" — Mable  burst  into  tears, — and  with 
loud  sobs  ran  to  her*seat  and  threw  herself  down, 
her  face  buried  in  her  arms. 

All  eyes  were  now  on  Margaret.  She  was 
strongly  tempted  to  spell  this  commencing  "ph"— 
it  seemed  correct,  but  something  told  her  that 
Mable  had  been  almost  right.  Almost,  but  not 
quite !  Mable 's  dramatic  finish  had  given  her  time 
to  think  for  a  moment,  and  when  the  word  was 
once  more  pronounced  she  was  ready — without 
hesitation  she  spelled  slowly  and  distinctly : 

"F-U-C-H-S-I-A." 

"Correct, — Margaret,  you  have  won  the  prize. " 

Margaret's  knees  almost  gave  way  under  her — 
surely  she  must  be  dreaming — it  could  not  possi- 
bly be  herself  to  whom  the  committeeman  was 
advancing  with  a  light  blue  plush  case — every  one 
was  clapping  their  hands,  and  the  boys  had  so 
forgotten  themselves  as  to  whistle  through  their 
fingers  and  noisily  stamp  their  feet. 


MABGABET,  You  HAVE  WON  THE  PBIZE." 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  LUCK.        31 

"It  gives  me  great  pleasure, "  said  Mr.  Ed- 
wards, "to  give  this  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  to 
Margaret  Hawkins,  and  to  pronounce  her  the  best 
speller  in  the  school. " 

Poor  Mable  cried  herself  to  sleep  that  night,  but 
it  was  a  good  lesson  for  her — it  taught  her  to  be 
more  considerate  of  others,  and  that  there  were 
something  at  which  she  could  be  beaten. 

Every  one  treated  Margaret  with  increased  re- 
spect, and  her  success  was  also  good  for  her—- 
she began  to  improve  in  her  other  studies,  and  as 
she  gained  in  confidence,  gradually  became,  if  not 
one  of  the  best,  at  least  a  very  good  scholar. 

Mr.  Edwards  says  his  next  prize  will  be  given 
for  the  best  all-around  pupil  at  the  close  of  the 
term — and  Mable  is  once  more  looking  forward 
with  hope. 


THE  TEUTH  ABOUT  LUCK. 

How  often  we  hear  some  one  say: 

"My,  but  he's  lucky !"  or.  "It's  better  to  be 
born  lucky  than  rich." 

Boys  and  girls  are  too  often  in  the  habit  of 
thinking  that  one  of  their  schoolmates  are 
"  lucky "  because  they  always  stand  well  in  their 
classes  and  frequently  have  spending  money  in 
their  pockets. 

It  is  not  likely  that  "luck"  had  anything  to  do 
with  it.  They  probably  stood  well  and  were  at 


32        THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  LUCK. 

the  head  of  the  class  in  school  because  they  studied 
and  tried  harder  than  the  other  scholars,  and  had 
money  to  spend  because  they  spent  their  time  out 
of  school  hours  in  working  to  earn  it  instead  of  at 
play. 

Some  years  ago  I  happened  to  find  myself  near 
the  terminal  of  the  great  East  Eiver  Bridge  in 
New  York  City.  Two  little  boys  were  standing 
near  one  of  the  large  iron  posts  crying  their 
afternoon  papers.  I  tarried  near  them  because 
I  was  waiting  for  a  particular  car.  One  little 
fellow  said  to  the  other, — 

"How  many  papers  have  you  sold  today, 
Tommie?" 

" Nearly  one  hundred  an'  fifty, "  was  Tommie's 
quick  reply. 

•'Honor  bright?" 

1 '  Yes ;  honor  bright. ' ' 

"Whoopee !  but  ain't  you  in  big  luck,  Tommie?" 

"Luck!"  exclaimed  Tommie,  wiping  the  per- 
spiration from  his  brow.  "There  ain't  no  luck 
about  it;  I've  just  been  everlastingly  at  it  since 
four  o'clock  this  morning — that's  all!" 

And  that  is  the  all  of  real  success.  Those  who 
achieve  success  are  "everlastingly  at"  what  they 
are  trying  to  do.  Tommie  was  right  in  declining 
to  have  his  hard  and  honest  work  cheapened  by 
calling  the  result  of  it  luck. 

"You  are  the  luckiest  chap  I  ever  saw,"  I  once 
heard  a  little  boy  about  sixteen  years  say  to  an- 
other boy  of  about  the  same  age. 


"How  MANY  PAPERS  HAVE  You  SOLD  TODAY,  TOMMY?' 


34  THE    TRUTH   ABOUT    LUCK. 

"Why  do  you  say  that!"  asked  the  other. 

"Because  you  have  had  your  salary  raised 
twice  in  the  same  year." 

"Well,"  was  the  reply,  "you  may  call  it  luck; 
but  I  don't.  I  have  always  done  my  work  the 
very  hest  I  knew  how.  I  have  never  once  in  the 
whole  year  been  a  single  minute  late  in  getting  to 
the  office,  nor  have  I  ever  left  a  single  minute 
before  it  was  time  for  me  to  leave.  When  I  have 
worked  over-time,  I  have  not  made  any  fuss  about 
it.  My  boss  said  when  he  raised  my  salary  last 
week  that  he  had  taken  these  things  into  account. 
So,  I  don't  see  where  the  luck  comes  in." 

"All  the  same,"  said  the  first  boy,  "some 
bosses  wouldn't  have  raised  your  salary." 

"Then  I  would  have  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  I  had  done  my  duty." 

Boys,  I  tell  you  that's  right.  Nine  out  of  ten 
employers  know  that  it  is  to  their  advantage 
to  show  appreciation  of  faithful  work  and  they 
show  it.  When  this  appreciation  comes  luck  has 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  thing  that  passes 
for  luck  is  in  nearly  all  cases  the  just  reward  of 
honest  endeavor. 

Do  not,  therefore,  start  out  in  life  with  the 
expectation  that  some  "lucky  turn"  will  bring 
you  sudden  honor  or  wealth  or  position  without 
any  effort  on  your  part.  Substitute  that  fine  old 
word  "work"  for  that  deceitful  word  "luck," 
and  base  your  hopes  of  future  success  and  use- 
fulness upon  the  honorable  labor  that  it  is  a  God- 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  LUCK.       35 

given  privilege  for  every  well  and  strong  and 
right-minded  boy  to  give  his  heart  and  hands  to 
performing. 


AN  EVENING  AT  HOME. 

Boys  and  girls  between  the  ages  of  eleven  and 
seventeen  ought  to  spend  their  evenings  at  home, 
as  much  as  possible.  In  these  busy,  bustling  twen- 
tieth century  days,  there  are  many  families — so 
much  the  worse  for  them — that  scarcely  know 
what  it  is  to  spend  an  evening  at  home  together,, 
Not  only  the  young  people  but  the  older  people 
are  "on  the  go/'  The  evenings  are  crowded 
with  calls  and  invitations,  which  come  from  far 
and  near.  It  is  nothing  to  go  five  or  even  ten 
miles  to  an  evening  concert  or  social  gathering, 
the  trolley  is  so  near,  so  cheap  and  so  univer- 
sal. But  I  tell  you,  boys  and  girls,  no  matter 
what  the  pleasure  or  amusement  afforded— no 
matter  what  the  instruction  or  culture  received— 
there  are  no  social  or  similar  opportunities  good 
enough  to  displace  the  home  circle.  The  sooner 
young  people  realize  this  the  happier  they  will  be. 

Boys  and  girls  ought  to  plan  for  some  evenings 
at  home.  Let  other  things  have  a  share,  but  do 
not  give  up  all  the  time  to  other  things.  Once  a 
week  the  young  people  ought  to  arrange  for  an 
evening  at  home.  Decline  everything  else  for 


36 


AN  EVENING  AT  HOME. 


that  evening,  the  same  as  you  would  for  any 
other  engagement.  Gather  the  family  together. 
Make  a  special  place  "for  grandma  and  grandpa. 
Sing  merry  songs;  play  innocent  and  amusing 


AN  EVENING  AT  HOME. 


games;  take  time  to  tell  the  home  folks  about 
some  of  the  things  that  you  do  and  that  you  have 
seen  in  the  world;  get  acquainted  with  the  home 
folks;  be  delighted  in  their  delight;  by  special 


AN  EVENING  AT  HOME.  37 

appointment,  spend  one  or  two  cheerful  hours 
with  the  folks  at  home  each  week. 

The  young  folks  themselves  should  take  the 
lead  in  this  matter.  A  home  is  not  merely  a 
place  with  four  walls  where  people  meet  to  eat 
and  drink  and  sleep  securely  beneath  a  roof. 
Nay,  boys  and  girls,  a  house  is  reared  to  be  a 
home— the  center  where  a  family  may  gather 
into  one;  to  be  a  serene  retreat  where  the  tender- 
est  affections  may  find  rest ;  where  love  may  have  a 
dwelling  place,  and  the  amenities  of  life  gain 
ample  scope;  where  parents  and  children  may 
press  one  another  heart  to  heart;  where  sor- 
rows and  joys  may  be  freely  shared  in  sacred 
confidence;  in  a  word,  where  the  great  work  of 
training  human  beings  for  the  duties  of  the  pres- 
ent life,  and  the  perfection  of  another,  may  be 
begun  and  carried  on. 

There  is  one  special  reason  for  making  much 
of  the  evenings  at  home  that  young  people  are 
not  likely  to  think  of.  Inevitably  the  family  cir- 
cle will  be  broken  up  very  soon.  Perhaps  not  by 
death,  but  most  certainly  by  change.  When  Fred 
goes  to  college  that  is  the  beginning  of  new  ties 
and  new  associations,  and  the  home  privileges 
can  never  be  quite  so  complete  to  him  again. 
The  years  of  the  complete  unity  of  the  home 
are  very  few  indeed.  While  these  years  are  pass- 
ing, young  people  especially  should  make  the 
most  of  them.  My  dear  boys  and  girls,  get  the 
benefit  of  these  years;  get  their  joys;  store  up 


38  AN  EVENING  AT  HOME. 

memories  of  home  life,  for  they  will  be  in  future 
years  the  most  beautiful  pictures  of  the  heart. 
However  some  may  sneer  at  it,  the  memory  of 
home  and  mother  is  a  great  power  for  righteous- 
ness. It  has  saved  many  a  person  to  God  and 
native  land  and  race. 

"Be  it  ever  so  humble— 
There's  no  place  like  home." 


THE  MAKING  OF  A  MAN.* 

Mr.  Stamps,  seated  near  the  table,  was  glanc- 
ing over  the  afternoon  paper.  Mrs.  Stamps,  in 
an  easy  chair,  was  doing  some  fancy  work.  Little 
Bobby,  six  years  old,  more  or  less,  was  playing 
with  his  toys  on  the  floor.  All  at  once  the  pre- 
cocious little  boy  stopped  short  in  the  middle  of 
his  sport  and,  looking  up  at  his  mother,  asked,— 

"Mama,  who  made  the  world?" 

"God,"  replied  Mrs.  Stamps,  sweetly. 

"Who  made  the  sea?"  continued  Bobby. 

Mrs.  Stamps  answered,  "God." 

"Well,"  said  Bobby,  "did  God  make  every- 
thing?" 

"Yes,  my  son;  the  Lord  made  everything." 

"And  did  he  make  everybody?" 


*Published  in  the  Voice  of  the  Negro. 


THE   MAKING   OF  A  MAN. 


39 


"Yes;  the  Lord  made  everybody.'7 

Bobby  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Presently  he 
looked  anxiously  at  his  father,  and  then,  turning 
to  his  mother,  he  asked,— 

"Mama,  did  God  make  papa,  too?" 

"Yes;  God  made  papa  also." 

After  a  lengthy  pause  Bobby  asked,— 


BOBBY  AND  His  "MAN." 

"Mama,  do  you  think  that  I  could  make  a  man, 
if  I  was  to  try  real  hard?" 

"You  had  better  run  out  to  play  now,  Bobby," 
said  Mrs.  Stamps,  somewhat  non-plused  by  her 
son's  curiosity. 

Bobby  left  the  room  almost  immediately.  He 
went  straight  to  the  beach  in  front  of  the  house, 
and  labored  long  and  earnestly  in  piling  up  some 
wet  sand.  Pretty  soon  he  was  joined  in  his  work 


40  THE  MAKING   OF  A  MAN. 

by  two  other  little  boys.  For  some  time  the  three 
little  fellows  worked  vigorously  in  piling  up  the 
mud.  Mrs.  Stamps  called  her  husband  to  the 
window,  so  that  he  might  see  what  the  boys  were 
doing. 

"Wife,"  said  Mr.  Stamps,  "I  believe  those  little 
Satans  are  trying  to  make  a  man. ' ' 

Toward  sunset  Bobby  ran  into  the  house  and 
exclaimed  with  delight,— 

' '  Mama,  weVe  got  our  man  almost  finished. 
We  didn't  have  but  one  marble,  and  we  used  that 
for  one  of  his  eyes.  I  came  in  to  ask  you  to  give 
me  a  marble,  so  that  we  might  put  in  his  other 
eye." 

•  ' ' It's  too  late  to  bother  now,  Bobby/'  said  Mrs. 
Stamps.  "Wait  until  to-morrow  morning;  then  I 
will  give  you  a  marble  and  let  you  finish  your 
man."  . 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  Bobby  went 
out  to  look  for  his  man.  Lo  and  behold!  the  sea 
had  washed  the  man  away  during  the  night.  But, 
Bobby,  of  course,  did  not  suspect  that.  He  thought 
that  the  man  had  gone  away  of  his  own  accord. 
So  the  little  fellow  spent  the  entire  morning  look- 
ing for  his  man.  He  looked  under  the  house;  he 
looked  in  the  stable;  he  went  up  to  the  garret;  he 
wallied  up  and  down  the  beach;  he  went  into  the 
woods— looking  for  his  man.  But  his  man  was 
nowhere  to  be  found. 

Two  or  three  weeks  later  an  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Conference  assembled  in  Bobby's  town. 


THE   MAKING   OF  A  MAN.  41 

Among  the  ministers  present  there  happened  to 
be  a  short,  chubby,  tan-colored  brother  with  only 
one  eye.  When  Bobby  spied  him  he  examined  the 
man  curiously  and  cautiously  from  head  to  foot. 
The  examination  ended,  Bobby  concluded  that  that 
was  his  man.  At  once  the  little  fellow  left  his 
mother  and  went  over  and  took  a  seat  beside 
the  man.  Bobby's  mother  was  somewhat  em- 
barrassed. The  man  was  evidently  pleased,  al- 
though, to  be  sure,  he  himself  was  not  quite  cer- 
tain why  he  should  be  an  object  of  special  interest 
to  the  little  boy.  The  man  went  to  the  secretary's 
table  to  have  his  name  enrolled— Bobby  went  with 
him.  He  went  into  the  vestibule  to  get  a  drink  of 
water— and  Bobby  followed  him  there.  But  all 
the  while  the  man  was  still  in  doubt  as  to  the 
cause  of  the  little  boy's  apparent  affection.  By 
this  time,  thoroughly  exasperated,  Bobby's  mother 
decided  to  go  home.  She  approached  the  pew  in 
a  very  ladylike  manner  and  said,— 

" Bobby,  dear,  come;  we  must  be  going  home 


now. ' ' 


"All  right,  Mama,"  said  Bobby  in  dead  ear- 
nest, "but  you  will  please  let  me  take  my  man 
home  with  me— won't  you!  I  just  found  him 
to-day,  and  you  know  I've  been  looking  for  him 
for  over  two  weeks!" 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  it  suddenly  dawned 
upon  Mrs.  Stamps  what  was  the  matter  with 
Bobby.  In  spite  of  herself  she  laughed  heartily  at 
the  boy's  perversity.  Finding  that  his  mother 


42  THE  MAKING  OF  A  MAN. 

hesitated  to  reply,  Bobby  turned  to  the  man  and 
said,— 

"Come  on:  we're  going  home  now.    Why  did 
you  leave  before 'I  finished  you?" 


FALSE  PEIDE. 

Once  upon  a  time  the  head  clerk  in  a  carpet 
store  requested  one  of  his  junior  clerks  to  go  to 
a  patron's  home  to  measure  a  room,  and  suggested 
that  he  take  along  a  five-yard  sample.  The  junior 
clerk  objected  to  "carting"  such  a  big  bundle,  as 
he  said,  "all  over  town,"  and  asked  that  one  of 
the  boys  be  sent  with  it.  The  proprietor  of  the 
establishment,  wjio  happened  to  overhear  the  re- 
mark, privately  told  the  head-clerk  to  inform  the 
proud  young  fellow  that  a  boy  would  be  sent  on 
after  him  with  the  roll.  Shortly  after  the  young 
man  reached  the  house,  the  proprietor  of  the  estab- 
lishment covered  him  with  confusion  by  appearing 
at  the  house  in  person  with  the  roll  of  carpet  under 
his  arm.  Handing  the  bundle  to  the  bewildered 
young  man,  the  proprietor  remarked : 

"Here  is  the  carpet,  young  man.  I  hope  I  have 
not  kept  you  waiting  for  it.  If  you  have  any  other 
orders,  I'll  take  them  now." 

***** 

A  young  woman  of  my  acquaintance  refused  to 
carry  home  a  yeast  cake,  though  it  was  needed  at 


"HEBE  Is 


CARPET,  YOUNG  MAN.    I  HOPE  I  HAVE  NOT  KEPT 
YOTJ  WAITING," 


44  FALSE  PRIDE. 

once  for  the  family  baking  anc^  she  was  bound 
directly  homeward.  She  said  that  she  wasn't  a 
delivery  wagon,  and  so  the  yeast  cake  had  to  be 
sent  to  her  home. 

A  great  many  foolish  young  people  are  so  ab- 
sorbingly regardful  of  their  trim  appearance  on 
the  street  that  they  will  never  under  any  circum- 
stances carry  a  basket  or  bundle,  however  much 
inconvenience  they  may  cause  others  by  refusing 
to  do  so. 

***** 

Now,  it  is  not  proper  pride  or  self-respect  which 
prompts  people  to  act  as  the  young  folks  acted 
whom  I  have -just  referred  to.  It  is  silliness  which 
prompts  them  to  act  so.  Any  honest  work  is  hon- 
orable that  is  honorably  done,  and  you  will  notice 
that  young  people  of  good  social  position  and 
strength  of  character  are  above  such  pettiness. 
Only  inferior  people  act  that  way.  Superior  peo- 
ple do  not  act  so,  because  they  are  well  aware  that 
they  cannot  be  compromised  by  doing  straightfor- 
wardly, without  fuss  or  apology,  whatever  needs 
to  be  done.  Yet,  I  admit,  that  it  seems  to  be 
human  nature  that  whatever  is  distasteful  or  sup- 
posedly menial  should  be  done  by  somebody  else. 
When  young  people,  or  old  people  for  that  matter, 
are  tempted  to  be  foolish  in  such  things  they 
should  remember  the  lesson  of  humility  that  Christ 
taught  his  disciples,  when  in  that  warm  Oriental 
country,  where  only  sandals  are  worn,  He  per- 
formed the  necessary  service  of  washing  the  dis- 


FALSE  PRIDE.  45 

ciples'  feet.  For  us  to  be  above  our  business— 
for  us  to  think  ourselves  too  good  or  too  dainty 
to  soil  our  hands  with  honest  toil— for  us  to  feel 
that  it  is  a  lowering  of  our  dignity  to  carry  a  bun- 
dle through  the  street,  is  to  prove  by  our  conduct 
that  we  are  not  up  to  the  level  of  our  business,  that 
we  are  possessed  of  a  great  amount  of  false  pride, 
and,  in  a  higher  sense,  it  shows  that  we  have  a  fool- 
ish and  wicked  distaste  of  true  service.  There  is 
nothing  low,  nothing  degrading,  nothing  disgrace- 
ful, in  honest  labor,  in  honest  work  of  any  kind, 
whether  it  be  to  boil  an  egg  properly,  to  sweep  a 
floor  well,  to  carry  a  bundle  or  package  through 
the  streets,  or  bring  a  pail  of  water.  In  fact,  if 
somebody  were  to  say  that  "  chores "  done  or  un- 
done are  the  making  or  the  unmaking  of  boys  and 
girls,  it  would  be  a  homely  way  of  putting  an  im- 
portant truth.  Bringing  up  coal  or  bringing  in 
wood,  weeding  the  garden  bed,  running  errands, 
washing  dishes,  sewing  seams,  dusting  furniture, 
doing  any  odd  jobs  where  there  is  need,  cheer- 
fully, faithfully —these  lead  to  the  highway  of 
greater  opportunities  and  are  the  usual  avenues  to 
the  only  manhood  and  womanhood  that  is  worth 
having.  My  young  friends,  the  castle  of  your 
noblest  dream  is  built  out  of  what  lies  nearest  at 
hand.  It  is  the  uncommonly  good  use  of  common 
things,  the  everyday  opportunities,  that  makes 
honored  lives,  and  helps  us,  and  helps  us  to  help 
others,  along  the  sunroad.  "He  that  is  faithful 
in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful  also  in  much." 


46  FALSE  PKIDE. 

u  Pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and  a  haughty 
spirit  before  a  fall. ' ' 


THANKSGIVING  AT  PINEY  GROVE. 

The  people  of  the  Piney  Grove  settlement,  both 
white  and  black,  had  been  free  for  nearly  a  gen- 
eration. The  whites  had  been  freed  from  the  curse 
of  being  slave-holders,  and  the  blacks  had  been 
freed  from  the  curse  of  being  held  in  bondage. 
But  never  in  the  history  of  this  little  town,  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  so-called  " Black  Belt"  of 
Georgia,  had  the  people  known  anything  about  the 
proper  observance  of  Thanksgiving  Day  until 
189—.  And  in  that  year  the  revolution  was 
brought  about  by  a  young  colored  woman  named 
Grace  Wilkins. 

Grace  Wilkins  was  the  only  daughter  of  Solo- 
mon and  Amanda  Wilkins.  Solomon  and  his  wife 
were  farmers— plain,  simple,  ordinary  country 
folk.  Amanda  was  literally  her  husband's  help- 
meet. She  went  along  with  him  every  morning  to 
the  field,  and,  in  season,  chopped  as  much  wood, 
picked  as  much  cotton,  hoed  as  much  corn,  pulled 
as  much  fodder,  and  plowed  as  much  as  her  hus- 
band did.  Up  to  her  fourteenth  year  Grace  had 
been  reared  on  a  farm,  and  had  learned  to  do  all 
the  things  that  any  farmer's  child  has  to  do— such 


THANKSGIVING  AT  PINEY  GROVE.          47 

as  milking  cows,  feeding  hogs  and  chickens,  hoe- 
ing cotton  and  corn,  picking  cotton,  pulling  fodder 
and  the  like.  In  her  fourteenth  year,  acting  upon 
the  advice  of  an  uneducated  colored  preacher,  her 
parents  sent  Grace  away  from  home  to  attend  one 


GRACE  BEFOBE  GOING  TO  SCHOOL. 

of  the  great  normal  and  industrial  institutes  for 
the  training  of  the  black  boys  and  girls  of  the 
South. 

At  first  her  mother  and  father  were  filled  with 
forebodings.  It  was  the  first  time  that  they  had 
ever  allowed  their  daughter  to  be  away  from  them, 


48      THANKSGIVING  AT  PlNEY   GttOVE. 

and  they  missed  her  so  much  and  longed  for  her 
so  constantly  that  they  thought  that  they  had 
made  a  mistake  in  sending  her  off  to  "boardin' 
school."  Ignorant  and  superstitious  neighbors, 
though  they  knew  as  little  about  such  matters  as 
did  Solomon  and  Amanda,  were  loud  in  saying 
that  "Sol"  and  "Mandy"  would  live  to  regret  the 
step  they  had  taken  in  sending  Grace  away  from 
home.  The  only  rays  of  sunshine  that  came  in  to 
brighten  these  periods  of  mental  unrest  and  gloom 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkins  were  found 
in  the  letters  which  they  received  regularly  from 
their  daughter.  Grace  invariably  informed  her 
parents,  whenever  she  wrote,  that  she  was  "well 
an'  doin'  well."  Thus  reassured  from  time  to 
time,  Solomon  and  Amanda  managed  somehow  to 
undergo  the  terrible  strain  of  having  their  daugh- 
ter absent  from  them  for  eight  months.  But  mean- 
^ime  they  were  firmly  of  the  opinion  that,  once 
they  got  their  hands  on  her  again,  they  would 
never  allow  Grace  to  return  to  school. 

With  glad  and  thankful  hearts  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wilkins  joyously  embraced  their  daughter  when 
she  came  home  at  the  close  of  her  first  year  in 
school.  With  keen  and  genuine  interest,  they  lis- 
tened to  her  wonderful  accounts  of  the  great  school 
and  of  the  great  man  at  the  head  of  it.  Grace 
dressed  differently  and  talked  differently;  and  her 
mother  said,  speaking  one  day  in  confidence  to  her 
husband  shortly  after  Grace's  return,  "Dat  gal's 
sho  got  a  new  walk  on  her!" 


THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY    GROVE.          49 

Grace  Wilkins  brought  back  a  toothbrush  with 
her  from  school.  That  was  something  which  she 
had  never  had  before.  She  used  that  toothbrush 
every  morning  and  night.  That  was  something 
that  she  had  never  done  before.  She  was  now  care- 
ful to  keep  her  hair  well  combed  every  day.  That 
was  something  that  she  had  been  accustomed  to  do 
on  Sundays  only  or  on  special  occasions.  She 
washed  her  face  two  or  three  times  a  day  now,  as 
her  mother  and  father  noticed.  Before  she  went  to 
school  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  her  face, 
as  the  old  people  say, ' i  a  lick  and  a  promise ' '  early 
each  morning.  Besides,  Grace  kept  the  house 
cleaner  than  she  had  kept  it  before.  She  brought 
home  with  her  a  brand  new  Bible  which  she  read 
regularly  at  home  and  always  carried  to  church 
and  Sunday  school.  She  also  had  a  song  book 
called  "Jubilee  Songs  and  Plantation  Melodies," 
and  it  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  good  ' '  old  folks 
at  home ' '  to  hear  their  daughter  sing  from  a  book 
some  of  the  very  songs  that  they  had  sung  all  their 
lifetime  and  which  were  so  dear  to  them. 

All  these  things  and  others  made  a  deep  and 
abiding  impression  upon  Solomon  and  his  wife. 
And  finding  that  withal  their  daughter  was  just  as 
loving  and  kind  as  she  had  been  before,  and  that 
she  was  just  as  industrious  and  faithful  as  form- 
erly,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkins  were  not  long  in  de- 
ciding that  their  daughter  should  go  back  to  that 
school  another  year,  and  that  they  would  work 
hard  and  stint  themselves  in  order  that  they  might 


50      THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY    GROVE.       . 

keep  her  there  until  she  had  finished  the  normal 
course. 

So  back  to  school  Grace  Wilkins  went— that 
year,  and  the  next  year,  and  the  next.  It  was  the 
proudest  day  in  Solomon's  and  Amanda's  lives 
when  they  sat  in  the  magnificent  chapel  of  the 
school  and  heard  their  daughter  read  her  gradua- 
tion essay  on  ' l  Tlie  Gospel  of  Service. ' '  Glad  tears 
welled  up  in  their  eyes  when  they  heard  the  prin- 
cipal call  their  daughter's  name,  and  then  saw 
Grace  step  up  to  receive  her  certificate  of  gradua- 
tion. 

Coming  back  to  Piney  Grove  to  live,  "Miss 
Gracie"— everybody  called  her  that  after  gradua- 
tion—established a  little  school  which  she  called 
"The  Piney  Grove  Academy."  It  was  the  first 
public  school  for  colored  children  ever  opened 
within  'the  corporate  limits  of  the  little  village. 
Before  that  the  schools  were  district  schools  or 
county  schools,  which  were  taught  about  in  dif- 
ferent places  for  only  three  or  four  months  in  the 
year,  mainly  during  the  summer.  Miss  Gracie  be- 
gan her  school  the  first  day  of  October.  By  special 
arrangement  she  used  the  first  three  months  for 
the  public  term  allowed  by  the  state,  and  supple- 
mented that  with  a  five-months  term,  for  which  the 
pupils  were  required  to  pay  fifty  cents  each  per 
month.  The  plan  worked  well,  the  parents  joining 
in  heartily  in  the  movement,  and  the  Piney  Grove 
Academy  soon  became  the  model  school  for  the 
surrounding  counties. 


THANKSGIVING  AT  PINEY  GROVE.          51 


GRACE'S  GRADUATION. 


Among  other  things  Miss  Gracie  had  learned 
at  school  what  was  the  import  of  our  national 
Thanksgiving  Day.  At  the  opening  of  the  second 


52       THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY    GROVE. 

year  of  the  Piney  Grove  Academy  she  decided 
that  she  would  inaugurate  an  annual  Thanksgiving 
service.  Accordingly  on  the  opening  day  of  the 
second  year  Miss  Gracie  informed  the  pupils  of  her 
plan,  and  told  them  that  she  would  begin  the  very 
next  day  to  prepare  a  suitable  program  for  the 
exercises.  Afterwards  Miss  Gracie  secured  the  co- 
operation of  the  village  pastor— the  same  man  who 
had  been  instrumental  in  having  her  parents  send 
her  away  to  school.  Through  him  she  was  per- 
mitted to  talk  to  the  people  at  the  church  two  or 
three  times  about  the  proposed  celebration.  She 
was  careful  to  tell  them  that  the  Thanksgiving 
festival  was  meant  specially  to  be  a  home  festival 
in  addition  to  being  a  time  for  the  people  to  come 
together  in  their  accustomed  places  of  worship  to 
thank  God  for  the  blessings  of  the  year.  She  urged 
them,  therefore,  as  far  as  they  were  able  without 
going  to  unnecessary  expense,  to  have  family  din- 
ners and  bring  together  at  one  time  and  in  one 
place  as  many  members  of  the  family  as  possible. 
She  explained  to  them  how  this  might  be  done 
successfully  and  economically,  and  with  pleasure 
and  profit  to  all  concerned.  She  also  urged  them 
to  be  planning  beforehand  so  that  nothing  might 
prevent  their  attending  church  Thanksgiving  Day 
morning.  She  was  going  to  hold  the  exercises  in 
the  church,  because  her  little  school  was  not  large 
enough  to  furnish  an  assembly  hall  for  the  people 
who  would  be  likely  to  be  present. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day  nearly  everybody  in  town 


THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY    GROVE.  53 

went  to  the  exercises.  Many  white  people  attended, 
including  the  county  school  commissioner  and  the 
school  trustees.  It  was  the  first  Thanksgiving 
service  that  any  of  them  had  ever  witnessed. 

The  program  was  made  up,  for  the  most  part, 
of  choice  selections  from  negro  authors,  composers, 
orators,  and  so  forth.  A  selection  from  Frederick 
Douglass  on  "Patriotism"  was  declaimed;  one 
from  Booker  T.  Washington's  Atlanta  Exposition 
speech  was  also  delivered.  Paul  Laurence  Dun- 
bar's  poem  entitled  "Signs  of  the  Times"  (a 
Thanksgiving  poem)  was  read  by  one  of  the 
pupils,  and  also  "The  Party,"  another  of  Dunbar's 
pieces,  was  rendered.  "The  Negro  National 
Hymn,"  words  by  James  W.  Johnson  and  music 
by  his  brother,  Eosamond  Johnson,  was  sung  by  a 
chorus  of  fifty  voices.  At  the  opening  of  the  serv- 
ice the  president's  Thanksgiving  proclamation 
was  read  and  appropriate  remarks  were  made  by 
Miss  Wilkins.  The  closing  remarks  were  made  by 
the  Kev.  John  Jones,  the  village  pastor.  The  re- 
marks of  Mr.  Jones  were  in  the  congratulatory 
mood.  He  was  naturally  proud  of  Miss  Gracie  's 
achievements,  because  he  had  had  something  to  do 
with  putting  her  on  the  road  to  an  education.  He 
spoke  of  the  teacher  as  the  leaven  that  was  leaven- 
ing the  whole  lump,  and  the  applause  which  fol- 
lowed the  statement  showed  plainly  the  high 
esteem  in  which  the  teacher  was  held  by  all  the 
people.  Everyone  enjoyed  the  service.  None  of 
the  villagers  had  ever  seen  anything  like  it  before. 


54       THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY   GROVE. 

After  singing  "  America "  all  of  them  went  away 
happy,  many  of  them,  in  obedience  to  Miss  Gracie  's 
previous  counsel,  going  home  to  eat  for  the  first 
time,  well  knowing  what  they  were  doing,  a 
Thanksgiving  dinner. 

At  the  home  of  Miss  Wilkins  there  was  an  ex- 
cellent spread  of  'possum,  potatoes,  rice,  chicken, 
pickles,  macaroni,  bread,  a  precious  Thanksgiving 
turkey,  and  the  inevitable  mincemeat  pie.  Besides 
Miss  Gracie,  there  sat  at  the  table  that  day  her 
parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Solomon  Wilkins,  John  and 
Joseph  Wilkins,  brothers  of  Solomon  who  had 
come  from  a  distance,  Mary  Andrews,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Wilkins,  who  also  came  from  a  distance, 
Grandma  Wilkins,  Grandma  and  Grandpa  An- 
drews, the  Eev.  John  Jones,  his  wife,  his  daughter, 
and  his  only  son,  Jasper  Jones. 

Jasper  had  gone  to  school  at  T—  -  one  year 
after  Gracie  went,  and,  of  course,  was  one  year 
later  in  finishing  the  course  there.  On  this  Thanks- 
giving Day,  nevertheless,  he  had  been  out  of  school 
long  enough  to  have  successfully  established  him- 
self in  the  business  of  poultry  raising  and  dairy- 
ing. 

Just  before  the  dinner  party  was  dismissed  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Jones  arose  and  said: 

"  There  is  another  little  ceremony  you 'all  is 
invited  to  witness  befo '  you  go  out  to  see  the  base- 
ball game.  I  am  authorized  by  these  credentials 
which  I  hoi'  in  my  hands  to  unite  in  the  holy  bonds 
of  matrimony  Miss  Grace  Wilkins  and  Mr.  Jasper 


THANKSGIVING   AT  PINEY    GROVE.  55 

Jones.    If  there  is  no  objection,  these  two  persons 
will  please  stan'  up,  an'  I'll  tie  the  knot." 

Of  course  there  were  no  objections.  The  knot 
was  tied.  And  when  the  villagers  learned  of  the 
occurrence  not  long  afterwards  they  had  addi- 
tional reason  for  believing  that  they  were  right 
when  they  voted  that  Piney  Grove  had  never  seen 
the  like  of  such  a  Thanksgiving  Day,  and  that 
Miss  Gracie  Wilkins  was  one  of  the  best  women 
in  all  the  world. 


THE  LOUD  GIRL. 

I  do  not  know  of  a  more  sorrowful  spectacle  than 
that  of  a  girl  who  is  loud  in  her  dress,  loud  in  her 
manners,  and  loud  in  her  speech.  It  is  a  great  mis- 
take for  a  girl  to  suppose  that  this  loudness  will  be 
mistaken  by  her  friends  and  acquaintances  for 
smartness.  The  desire  to  be  regarded  as  bright  and 
witty  has  led  many  a  girl  into  the  folly  of  being 
loud  in  her  manners.  She  often  cherishes  the  illu- 
sion that  the  attention  such  manners  attract  is 
combined  with  admiration,  when  the  truth  is  that 
those  who  witness  her  strange  conduct  are  simply 
wondering  how  it  is  possible  for  her  to  throw  to 
the  winds  that  charm  of  all  girlhood— modesty. 

One  afternoon  not  long  ago  I  saw  a  group  of 
girls  of  the  loud  type.  They  came  into  the  street 
car  in  which  I  was  sitting.  They  all  wore 


56 


LOUD  GIRL. 


boys '  hats.  One  wore  a  vivid  red  jacket  with,  brass 
buttons,  and  another  had  on  a  brass  belt.  A  third 
one  had  on  a  most  conspicuous  plaid  skirt.  This 
third  one  had  a  box  of  bonbons,  and  when  the  three 


BLAB-MOUTHED  AND  NOISY. 

were  seated  she  opened  the  box  and  offered  it  to 
her  companions,  saying  as  she  did  so,  in  a  voice 
loud  enough  and  shrill  enough  to  be  heard  in  every 
part  of  the  car; 


THE    LOUD    GIRL.  57 

* '  It 's  my  treat ;  have  some,  chums ! ' ' 

Upon  this  invitation  one  of  the  girls  dived  down 
into  the  box  like  a  hungry  bear,  and  held  up  a 
piece  of  the  candy  in  triumph  and  then  dashed  it 
into  her  mouth  with  a  great  guffaw.  ' '  0,  Mame ! ' ' 
said  one  of  the  girls,  "if  you  ain't  just  horrid  to 
go  and  take  the  very  piece  I  wanted ! ' ' 

"Mame"  laughed  and,  taking  the  candy  from 
her  -mouth,  offered  it  to  the  other  girl,  saying  as 
she  did  so : 

"Well,  here  it  is,  Lulu!" 

'  *  Lulu ' '  struck  the  candy  from  l '  Mame 's ' '  hand, 
and  it  flew  across  the  aisle  into  the  lap  of  a  lady 
sitting  opposite  the  girls.  This  set  all  three  of  the 
girls  to  giggling  and  tittering,  and  they  seemed 
in  danger  of  convulsions  when  the  owner  of  the 
box  of  candy  let  it  fall  and  a  part  of  the  candy 
rolled  out  on  the  floor. 

The  conductor  came  forward  and  picked  up  the 
box  and  candy  and  handed  them  to  the  owner. 
She  giggled  out  her  thanks,  and  "Lulu"  said: 
"Why  didn't  you  give  him  a  gumdrop  for  his 
trouble?" 

This  seemed  to  impress  the  other  girls  as  a  most 
brilliant  witticism,  and  they  fell  to  tittering  vio- 
lently over  it. 

Presently  a  gentleman  came  in  and  stumbled 
slightly  over  the  feet  of  one  of  the  girls  thrust 
out  into  the  aisle. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  gentleman,  as  he 
lifted  his  hat,  whereupon  the  three  girls  grinned 


MODEST  AND  QUIET. 


THE    LOUD    GIRL.  59 

and  giggled  and  giggled  and  grinned  immoderate- 
ly, and  one  of  them  said : 

"Boxy,  you  had  better  ride  out  on  the  platform, 
where  there  is  more  room  for  your  feet!" 

"Boxy"  then  struck  "Lulu"  for  making  this 
speech.  "Lulu"  pretended  to  be  much  offended 
and  flung  herself  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  car, 
where  she  made  a  grimace  at  the  other  girls. 

The  conduct  of  these  girls  during  the  half  hour 
that  they  were  on  the  car  was  such  as  caused  every 
father  and  mother  who  saw  them  to  regard  them 
with  pity.  The  loud  girl,  my  dear  readers,  is 
always  an  object  of  pity.  She  should  be  a 
sorry  object  for  her  own  contemplation.  An  old 
writer  has  said :  l '  You  little  know  what  you  have 
done  when  you  have  first  broken  the  bounds  of 
modesty;  you  have  set  open  the  door  of  your  fancy 
to  the  devil,  so  that  he  can  represent  the  same  sin- 
ful pleasure  to  you  anew. ' ' 

Now,  the  loud  girl  may  be  entirely  innocent  of 
any  actual  wrong-doing,  but  she  is  regarded  with 
dislike,  distrust,  and  even  disdain,  by  the  better 
class  of  people.  She  acquires  a  reputation  for  rude- 
ness and  coarseness,  and  the  people  of  refinement 
will  not  associate  with  her.  Her  character  suffers, 
no  matter  how  innocent  she  may  be  of  any  inten- 
tion of  doing  wrong.  Delicacy,  modesty,  is  the  cer- 
tain sign  of  sweetness,  purity  and  gentleness  of 
character,  just  as  indelicacy  is  the  certain  sign  of  a 
lack  of  these  beautiful  traits. 


THE  ROWDY  BOY. 

You  can  tell  him  wherever  you  see  him.  There 
are  certain  marks  or  appearances  which  he  carries 
about  with  him  and  which  are  never  absent.  For 
one  thing  you  will  find  him  with  a  cigarette  stuck 
in  his  mouth,  and  a  cigarette  is  one  of  the  deadliest 
poisons  in  the  world  for  boy  or  man.  He  wears  his 
hat  on  the  side  or  cocked  back  on  his  head.  Fre- 
quently he  stuffs  both  hands  in  his  trousers'  pock- 
ets. He  doesn't  attend  school  regularly;  sometimes 
he  starts  for  school  and  ends  at  the  bathing  pond 
or  the  baseball  park.  He  is  late  at  Sunday  school, 
if  he  goes  at  all,  and  he  stands  'round  on  the  out- 
side at  church  while  the  service  is  going  on  inside. 
He  steals  rides  on  trains  and  on  trolley  cars,  and  on 
passing  vehicles  of  all  descriptions.  He  is  saucy 
and  impudent  to  older  people,  and  is  always  ready 
and  willing  to  quarrel  or  fight  with  his  mates.  He 
is  what  the  boys  call  a  ' '  bully. ' ' 

The  loud  girl  and  the  rowdy  boy  are  two  things 
of  which  we  have  seen  enough  in  this  world.  They 
are  things;  they  are  hardly  worth  the  dignity  of 
being  called  human  beings. 

I  saw  one  of  these  rowdy  boys  in  his  own  home 
not  a  great  while  ago.  His  mother  said  to  him: 

"Johnnie,  you  must  always  take  off  your  hat 
whenever  you -come  into  the  house." 

"Good  gracious  alive,"  he  said,  "I  can't  do 

60 


THE  ROWDY  BOY. 


61 


anything  right.  What  is  the  use  of  grabbing  off 
your  hat  every  time  you  come  into  your  own 
house  T" 

His  mother  looked  sad,  but  said  nothing.    Pres- 


HE  STUFFED  BOTH  HANDS  IN  His  TROUSERS'  POCKET. 

ently  she  discovered  that  her  little  boy  had 
brought  some  mud  into  the  house  on  his  shoes. 
In  her  sweetest  tones  she  said : 

"Johnnie,  you  must  go  to  the  door  and  wipe 


62  THE  ROWDY  BOY. 

your  feet  now.  See  how  you  are  tracking  up  the 
floor  there!" 

' i  Well, ' '  said  the  rowdy  boy  with  a  snarl, ' i  can 't 
the  old  floor  be  scoured  1  You  must  think  this  old 
house  is  gold." 

Now,  I  am  a  preacher,  boys,  and,  being  a  preach- 
er, of  course  I  am  what  is  called  a  "man  of  peace," 
but  I  tell  you  that  that  was  one  time  I  came  pretty 
near  wishing  that  I  wasn't  a  preacher  so  that  I 
might  have  given  that  boy  what  he  deserved.  I 
was  sorry,  for  the  time  being,  that  he  wasn't  my 
son.  No  manly  little  boy  will  ever  talk  to  his 
mother  in  any  such  way.  I  suppose  that  boy 
thought  it  made  him  appear  to  be  a  very  impor- 
tant personage,  but  he  was  very  much  mistaken. 
Don't  be  rowdy,  boys;  don't  be  rough;  don't  be 
rude.  You  were  made  for  better  things. 


HONESTY. 

Early  in  the  morning  two  little  boys  came  to 
the  market  place.  They  arranged  their  little  stands 
and  spread  out  their  wares,  and  sat  down  to  wait 
for  customers.  One  sold  watermelons  and  fruit, 
and  the  other  sold  fish  and  oysters.  The  hours 
passed  on  and  both  were  doing  well.  By-and-by 
Sammie  had  only  one  melon  left  on  his  stand.  A 
gentleman  came  along  and  said: 


HONESTY. 


63 


"What  a  fine,  large  melon!    I  think  I  will  buy 
that  one.    What  do  you  ask  for  it,  my  boy?" 
"This  is  my  last  melon,  sir;  and  though  it  looks 


"HOW   MUCH   FOB  THE   MELON?" 


fair,  there  is  an  unsound  spot  on  the  other  side," 
said  the  boy,  turning  the  melon  over. 

' i  So  there  is, ' '  said  the  man.  ' i  I  don 't  believe  I  '11 
take  it.     But,"  he  added,  looking  straight  at  the 


64  HONESTY. 

boy, i '  is  it  very  good  business  for  you  to  point  out 
the  defects  of  your  goods  to  customers  !" 

" Perhaps  not,  sir,"  said  the  boy  with  becoming 
modesty,  "but  it  is  better  than  being  dishonest." 

"You  are  right,  my  boy;  always  speak  the  truth 
and  you  will  find  favor  with  God  and  man.  I  shall 
not  forget  your  little  stand  in  the  future." 

Then  turning  to  the  other  boy's  stand  the  man 
asked: 

"Are  those  fresh  oysters!" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddie,  "these  are  fresh  this 
morning— just  arrived." 

The  gentleman  bought  them  and  went  away. 

"Sammie,"  said  Freddie,  "you  never  will  learn 
any  sense.  What  did  you  want  to  show  that  man 
that  spot  on  the  melon  for?  He  never  would  have 
looked  at  it  until  he  got  home.  IVe  got  an  eye  to 
business,  myself.  You  see  how  I  got  rid  of  those 
stale  oysters— sold  them  for  just  the  same  price 
as  fresh  oysters. ' ' 

"Freddie,"  said  the  other  boy,  "I  wouldn't  tell 
a  lie,  or  act  one  either,  for  twice  the  money  we  have 
both  earned  today.  Besides  I  have  gained  a  cus- 
tomer and  you  have  lost  one." 

And  it  turned  out  just  as  Sammie  said.  The  next 
day  the  gentleman  bought  a  large  supply  of  fruit 
from  Sammie,  but  he  never  spent  another  penny 
at  Freddie 's  stand.  It  continued  that  way  through 
all  the  summer.  At  the  close  of  the  season  he  took 
Sammie  into  his  store,  and,  after  awhile,  gave  him 
a  share  in  the  business. 


UNCLE  NED  AND  THE  INSURANCE 
SOLICITOR.* 

Life  insurance  is  something  that  every  married 
man  should  carry.  In  fact,  it  is  a  fine  investment 
for  a  young  man  to  take  out  a  ten-  or  twenty-year 
payment  policy  in  some  good  company,  which  can 
be  made  in  favor  of  his  father  or  mother  in  the 
event  of  his  death,  or  obtained  in  cash  ten  or 
twenty  years  later  by  himself. 

The  following  story  tells  of  an  insurance  agent 
trying  to  insure  the  life  of  an  old  colored  man— 
the  story  is  amusing,  but  only  as  a  story.  We  do 
not  advise  any  one  to  follow  Uncle  Ned's  example. 

Charles  Turner,  an  agent  of  the  Workingmen's 
Industrial  Aid  Insurance  Company,  called  upon 
Edmund  Grant, .  an  elderly  colored  man,  with  a 
view  to  getting  him  to  insure  his  life. 

' i Good  morning,  Uncle  Ned,"  said  Mr.  Turner. 

' ' Good  morning,  Mr.  Turner/'  said  the  old  man, 
raising  his  hat  and  making  a  low  bow. 

i 'Uncle  Ned,  do  you  carry  any  insurance?"  in- 
quired the  agent. 

"Do  I  carry  what?"  asked  Uncle  Ned. 

"Do  you  carry  any  insurance?  Is  your  life  in- 
sured?" asked  the  agent. 

"Bless  the  Lord,  yes,  indeed,  sir,"  replied  the 
colored  man;  "long,  long  ago." 

"In  what  company?"  asked  the  solicitor. 

65 


"THAT'S  JUST  WHAT  MY  RELIGION  DOES!" 


UNCLE  NED.  67 

ul'm  a  Baptist,  sir, — a  deepwater  Baptist," 
answered  Uncle  Ned. 

The  agent  realized  that  the  old  man  had  not 
understood  him,  but,  anyhow,  he  asked  him: 

"How  long  has  it  been  since  you  joined  1" 

"I  joined  the  same  year  the  stars  fell,"  replied 
the  old  man. 

The  solicitor  knew  that  the  old  man  referred  to 
the  year  when  the  great  meteoric  display  of  shoot- 
ing stars  took  place,  and  said: 

"That's  quite  a  long  time  ago.  Does  your  com- 
pany pay  any  dividends  !" 

"Mr.  Turner, "  said  Uncle  Ned,  with  a  smile, 
"that  question  is  out  of  my  reach, — just  what  do 
you  mean  ? ' ' 

"Why,  Uncle  Ned,"  said  Mr.  Turner,  "a  divi- 
dend is  interest  paid  on  your  money;  and  if  yon 
have  been  paying  your  money  into  one  company 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  surely  you  ought  to 
have  been  receiving  your  dividends  long  before 
now,  especially  if  it's  an  old-line  company." 

"Well,"  said  Uncle  Ned,  "it  surely  is  the  oldest 
line  company  that  ever  was.  The  Lord  set  it  up 
himself  way  back  yonder  on  Calvary's  tree.  But  I 
haven 't  ever  heard  of  any  interest  or  dividends — 
nothing  of  the  kind  And  you  haven't  heard  me 
talk  about  paying  in  money  for  thirty  years, — 
you  know  you  haven't.  Salvation's  free,  man, — 
salvation's  free !  You  know  that  as  well  as  I  do." 

"Oh,  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Turner;  "I  see  that  I 
have  misunderstood  you.  You're  talking  about 
your  soul's  salvation." 


68  UNCLE  NED. 

"I  certainly  am,"  answered  the  old  man. 

i '  Well,  I  came  here  to  talk  to  you  about  insuring 
your  life  in. case  of  death  or  your  body  in  case  of 
accident  or  sickness, "  replied  the  agent. 

"Accidents,  sickness  and  death  come  to  all  of 
us,"  said  Uncle  Ned  very  solemnly.  "There's  no 
way  of  getting  away  from  death." 

"That's  so,"  replied  the  agent  patiently;  "in- 
surance companies  cannot  prevent  sickness  and 
death  any  more  than  you  can,  Uncle  Ned,  but  in- 
surance companies  can  and  do  help  you  to  bear 
your  burdens  in  time  of  trouble." 

"That's  just  what  my  religion  does,"  said  the 
old  man,  with  great  satisfaction. 

"But  we  do  it  in  a  different  way,"  persisted 
the  agent. 

"How  do  you  do  it?"  asked  Uncle  Ned. 

Then  the  agent  went  on  to  explain  all  about  in- 
surance, the  benefits,  the  premiums,  accident 
benefits,  sick  benefits,  etc.,  dwelling  particularly 
on  the  fund  that  would  be  paid  in  the  event  of  the 
old  man's  death.  Uncle  Ned  listened  with  a  great 
deal  of  interest,  and  after  he  had  finished, 
inquired : 

"Mr.  Turner,  who  do  you  say  the  money  goes 
to  when  I  die!" 

"To  your  wife,"  answered  Mr.  Turner,  "or  to 
your  children,  or  any  one  else  you  name." 

"Well,  Mr.  Turner,  let  me  ask  you  one  ques- 
tion: Don't  you  think  that  would  help  the  other 
fellow  more  than  it  would  me?" 


UNCLE  NED.  69 

"What  other  fellow?"  asked  the  agent. 

"My  wife's  second  husband, "  replied  Ned. 
"You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  if  I  was  to  die 
and  leave  five  or  six  hundred  dollars  to  her  that 
some  other  colored  gentleman  would  be  trying  to 
change  her  name  before  I  got  cold  in  the  ground. ' ' 

The  agent  could  not  suppress  a  smile,  and  Uncle 
Ned  went  on: 

1 1  Women  are  mighty  curious ;  if  I  went  into  this 
thing,  I  wouldn't  dare  let  Dinah  know  about  it. 
She  is  a  mighty  fine  and  loving  wife  right  now.  but 
if  she  knew  there  was  all  that  money  waiting  for 
her  when  I  died,  wouldn't  she  be  sort  of  looking 
forward  to  the  time  when  she  would  get  it  to 
spend?  Why,  Mr.  Turner,  she  might  even  be 
tempted  to  put  something  in  my  tea,  and  the  first 
thing  I  knew  some  morning  I'd  wake  up  dead.  I 
don't  want  anything  to  do  with  this  insurance. 
The  Baptist  Church  is  good  enough  for  me. ' ' 

When  Mr.  Turner  gave  it  up  and  laughingly 
left  him,  he  heard  Uncle  Ned  singing — 

"I'm  a  Baptist  bred  and  a  Baptist  born, 
And  when  I  die,  that's  a  Baptist  gone." 


THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE. 

They  were  having  a  rough-and-tumble  time  of  it 
and  Pansy  was  getting  some  pretty  hard  blows. 
She  took  them  all  good-naturedly,  nevertheless, 
and  tried  to  give  as  good  as  she  received,  much  to 
the  delight  of  her  little  boy  friends.  A  lady  who 
was  standing  near,  afraid  for  the  little  girl,  chided 
the  boys  and  said: 

"You  shouldn't  handle  Pansy  so  roughly— you 
might  hurt  her. ' ' 

And  then  Pansy  looked  up  in  sweet  surprise  and 
said  with  amusing  seriousness: 

i '  No ;  they  won  ?t  hurt  me.    I  don 't  break  easy. ' ' 

It  was  a  thoroughly  childlike  expression,  but  it 
had  more  wisdom  in  it  than  Pansy  knew.  She 
spoke  out  of  a  little  girl's  experience  with  dolls, 
some  of  which,  as  she  had  learned,  broke  very  eas- 
ily. Pansy  knew  how  delightful  it  was  to  have  a 
doll  that  didn't  break  so  easily.  Though  she  was 
not  a  homely  girl  by  any  means,  and  though  she 
was  not  a  wicked  little  girl,  yet  she  wanted  it  un- 
derstood that  she  was  not  like  a  piece  of  china. 
That  was  why  the  other  children  liked  her  so 
much— because  she  knew  how  to  rough  it  without 
crying  or  complaining  at  every  turn.  Pansy  was 
not  a  cry-baby. 

There  is  all  the  time,  my  dear  boys  and  girls, 
a  great  demand  everywhere  all  through  life  for 

70 


THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE. 


71 


people  who  don't  break  easily — people  who  know 
how  to  take  hard  knocks  without-  going  all  to 
pieces.  The  game  of  life  is  sometimes  rough,  even 


Jr 


(I  DON'T  BREAK  EASY." 


among  those  who  mean  to  play  fair.  It  is  very 
trying  when  we  have  to  deal  with  people  who 
break  easily,  and  are  always  getting  hurt  and 


72  THE   STRENUOUS  LIFE. 

spoiling  the  game  with  their  tears  and  -complaints. 
It  is  so  much  better  when  we  have  to  deal  with 
people  who,  like  little  Pansy,  do  not  break  easily. 
Some  of  them  will  laugh  off  the  hardest  words 
without  wincing  at  all.  You  can  jostle  them  as 
you  will,  but  they  don't  fall  down  every  time  you 
shove  them,  and  they  don't  cry  every  time  they 
are  pushed  aside.  You  can't  but  like  them,  they 
take  life  so  heartily  and  so  sensibly.  You  don't 
have  to  hold  yourself  in  with  them  all  the  time. 
You  can  let  yourself  out  freely  without  being  on 
pins  as  to  the  result.  Young  people  of  this  class 
make  good  playmates  or  good  work-fellows,  as  the 
case  may  be. 

So,  boys  and  girls,  you  must  learn  to  rough  it 
a  little.  Don't  be  a  china 'doll,  going  to  smash  at 
every  hard  knock.  If  you  get  hard  blows  take 
them  cheerily  and  as  easily  as  you  can.  Even  if 
seine  blow  comes  when  you  least  expect  it,  and 
knocks  you  off  your  feet  for  a  minute,  don 't  let  it 
floor  you  long.  Everybody  likes  the  fellow  who 
can  get  up  when  he  is  knocked  down  and  blink  the 
tears  away  and  pitch  in  again.  Learning  to  get 
yourself  accustomed  to  a  little  hard  treatment  will 
be  good  for  you.  Hard  words  and  hard  fortune 
often  make  us—if  we  don't  let  them  break  us. 
Stand  up  to  your  work  or  play  courageously,  and 
when  you  hear  words  that  hurt,  when  you  are  hit 
hard  with  the  blunders  or  misdeeds  of  others, 
when  life  goes  roughly  with  you,  keep  right  on  in 
a  happy,  companionable,  courageous,  helpful 


THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE.  73 

spirit,  and , let  the  world  know  that  you  don't 
break  easily. 


A  HUMBUG. 

A  boy  or  girl  who  is  pleasant  and  agreeable 
everywhere  except  at  home  is  a  humbug.  I  know 
one  boy  who  is  a  good  deal  of  a  humbug,  although 
you  would  never  think  so  if  you  were  to  see  him  in 
any  place  outside  of  his  home.  He  is  good-looking, 
neat  and  tidy,  and  carries  himself  like  a  little  man. 
I  do  not  know  of  a  boy  who.  can  tip  his  hat  more 
gracefully  to  a  lady,  or  who  can  say,  "I  beg  your 
pardon,"  or  "excuse  me,  please,"  more  pleasantly 
than  he  can.  But,  for  all  that,  he  is  a  humbug. 

I  visited  his  home  the  other  day.  I  heard  his 
mother  speak  to  him. 

* '  Alexander, ' '  she  said. 

*  '  Well,  what  do  you  want  I "  he  asked  in  a  voice 
which  plainly  indicated  his  displeasure. 

"I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me." 

"Oh,  you  are  always  wanting  me  to  do  some- 
thing just  when  I  want  to  be  doing  something 
else, ' '  said  Alexander,  and  this  time  he  was  whin- 
ing. 

In  departing  on  his  errand  Alexander  acciden- 
tally ran  against  his  little  sister  in  the  hall.  I  ex- 
pected to  hear  him  say,  "I  beg  your  pardon"  in 


74  A  HUMBUG. 

the  pleasant  way  that  I  knew  he  could  say  it,  but 
he  snapped  out  instead: 

"Oh,  get  out  of  the  way,  can't  you?" 
When  he  returned  from  the  postoffice,  Alex- 
ander's mother  was  out  in  the  yard  trimming  the 


12^ 


"On,  GET  Our  OF  THE  WAY,  CAN'T  You?" 


A  HUMBUG.  75 

flowers.  While  Alexander  was  reporting  to  her 
she  happened  to  drop  her  scissors.  I  expected  to 
see  her  polite  and  dutiful  son  pick  them  up,  as  he 
was  close  by  when  the  scissors  fell;  but  the  boy 
paid  no  attention  to  the  scissors.  When  his 
mother  said,  "Please  pick  up  my  scissors  for  me, 
Alexander", "  he  said: 

"What  did  you  drop  'em  for?" 

I  spent  the  best  part  of  one  whole  day  at  Alex- 
ander's home,  and  never  once  during  all  that  day 
did  I  hear  him  speak  politely  to  his  mother  or 
sisters,  nor  d^d  he  observe  the  ordinary  rules  of 
courtesy  and  good  behavior  in  their  presence.  He 
was  continually  grumbling  and  complaining  and 
finding  fault.  So  I  think  I  have  a  right  to  say 
that  this  boy  is  a  good  deal  of  a  humbug.  Any 
boy  is  a  humbug  who  is  polite  and  gracious  to 
others  and  in  every  way  discourteous  and  dis- 
agreeable at  home.  Don't  you  think  so,  too? 


HOW  TO  BE  HANDSOME. 

Do  you  want  to  he  handsome  1    I  '11  tell  you  how. 

First,  look  well  to  your  health.  Eat  regularly 
and  simply,  and  take  proper  rest,  in  order  to  be 
healthy.  Do  not  crowd  the  stomach.  The  stomach 
can  no  more  work  all*  the  time,  night  and  day, 
than  a  horse ;  it  must  have  regular  rest.  The  body 
must  have  proper  rest  also.  Do  not  keep  late 
hours.  Go  to  bed  early.  If  you  have  work  which 
must  be  done,  it  is  a  good  deal  better  to  rise  early 
in  the  morning  and  do  it  than  it  is  to  sit  up  late 
at  night  and  work. 

Secondly,  good  teeth  are  essential  to  good  looks. 
Brush  the  teeth  regularly  with  a  soft  brush  morn- 
ing and  night,  especially  at  night.  Be  sure  to  go 
to  bed  at  night  with  clean  teeth. 

Thirdly,  look  well  to  the  ventilation  of  your 
bedrooms.  No  one  can  have  a  clear  skin  who 
breathes  bad  air.  Fresh  air  is  a  preventive  of  a 
multitude  of  diseases.  Bad  air  is  the  cause  of  a 
great  many  premature  deaths. 

Fourthly,  cleanliness  of  the  entire  body  is  of 
vast  importance.  Some  one  has  said  that  ' i  Clean- 
liness is  next  to  godliness, "  and  some  one  else  has 
added,  "And  soap  is  a  means  of  grace. "  Hand- 
some people  not  only  eat  regularly  and  simply; 
they  not  only  sleep  regularly  and  look  well  to 

76 


HOW   TO   BE     HANDSOME.  77 

proper  ventilation;  but  handsome  people  will  take 
regular  baths. 

Fifthly,  more  than  all  else,  in  order  to  look  well 
you  must  wake  up  the  mind  and  soul.  When  the 
mind  is  awake,  the  dull,  sleepy  look  passes  away 
from  the  eyes.  Keep  thinking  pleasant  and  noble 
thoughts ;  do  not  read  trashy  novels  or  books ;  read 
books  which  have  something  good  in  them.  Talk 
with  people  who  know  something.  Be  often  in  the 
company  of  those  who  know  more  than  you  do. 
Hear  lectures  and  sermons  and  profit  by  them.  If 
we  listen  and  understand  and  heed,  the  mind  and 
soul  are  awakened.  So  much  the  better  if  the  spir- 
itual nature  is  aroused.  Sometimes  a  plain  face 
is  really  glorified  with  the  love  of  God  and  of  man 
which  shines  through  it. 

Lastly,  keep  a  strong  and  vigorous  body  by  tak- 
ing plenty  of  wholesome  outdoor  exercise,  and  do 
all  the  good  you  can. 

Why  not  begin  to  grow  handsome  today? 


PATIENCE. 

Patience  is  one  of  the  marks  of  a  high  charac- 
ter. It  might  well  be  called  the  habit  of  closing 
the  mind  against  disagreeable  and  annoying  con- 
ditions. To  acquire  this  habit  so  effectually  as  to 
hide  even  from  one's  self  any  sense  of  suffering 
or  offense  from  contact  with  such  conditions  is 
what  the  truly  cultivated  aim  at.  Life,  it  is  true, 
is  full  of  trying  things,  but  to  let  the  mind  dwell 
upon  them  only  serves  to  increase  their  offense  to 
the  feelings  or  the  senses. 

There  are  people,  of  course,  who  are  incapable 
of  self-concentration,  and  whose  imagination,  if 
left  free  to  gad  about,  seems  always  to  fix  upon 
and  exaggerate  every  element  of  disturbance.  They 
live  in  what  is  called  an  elementary  stage  of  moral 
discipline,  and  are  perpetually  fretting  about 
things  they  cannot  help.  They  are  never  able  to 
shut  down  the  will  against  any  unpleasantness. 
They  permit  merely  accidental  conditions  to  exer- 
cise a  kind  of  tyrannical  sway  over  them,  which,  if 
their  minds  were  once  bent  to  the  practice  of  put- 
ting up  with  things,  would  cease  to  present  .any 
annoyance  whatever. 

It  is  difficult,  no  doubt,  to  acquire  this  habit,  but 
this  is  what  patience  means  in  its  highest  sense.  It 
is  spiritual  endurance,  and  its  chief  power  con- 

78 


PATIENCE.  79 

sists  not  so  much  in  adding  to  the  number  of  our 
joys  as  in  lessening  the  number  of  our  sufferings. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  mark  of  power  over  one's  self 
and  a  means  of  power  over  others.  With  patience 
the  outward  success  or  failure  of  a  man  is  a  small 
thing  compared  with  that 
success  which  he  has  achiev- 
ed within  himself.  And  that 
kind  of  success— the  success 
which  enables  a  man  to 
laugh  at  failure  and  rise  su- 
perior to  discouragements 
and  difficulties— that  kind  of 
success  is  a  means  of  help 
and  inspiration  to  all  those 
about  him. 

If  we  consider  the  works 
of  nature  we  shall  see 
that  nature's  most 
beneficent  operations 
are  the  results  of  pa- 
t  i  e  n  c,e.  Anything 
which  grows  must 
have  time,  and  the 
best  things  in  the  PATIENCE. 

world  are  generally  those  things  which  demand  the 
longest  time  for  their  growth  and  development. 
The  rank  and  short-lived  weed  reaches  its  full  de- 
velopment in  the  shortest  possible  time,  but  the 
oak,  which  is  to  stand  for  centuries,  demands  the 
sunshine  and  the  storm  of  years  before  its  strength 
is  fully  developed. 


80  PATIENCE. 

jNow,  boys  and  girls,  one  of  the  hardest  demands 
which  nature  makes  upon  people  (especially  upon 
young  people,  full  of  strength  and  energy  and  am- 
bition) is  to  wait  for  the  results  of  growth.  No 
man  becomes  instantly  strong  morally;  he  must 
grow  into  strength.  However  great  his  ambition 
and  his  zeal  may  be,  no  man  becomes  a  scholar  in 
a  year.  It  takes  time,  and  lots  of  it.  No  man 
reaches  at  a  single  bound  the  full  development  of 
his  whole  nature.  He  grows  into  strength.  A 
good  soldier  cannot  be  made  without  war,  nor  can 
a  skillful  seaman  be  made  on  land. 

So  in  the  race  of  life  we  must  fight  hard  for  all 
we  get  and  be  patient.  Whatever  else  may  be  true, 
or  may  not  be  true,  only  patient  and  continued 
efforts— not  hasty  efforts— lead  to  success. 

Before  me  lies  a  block  of  wood.  It  is  full  of 
knots.  It  seems  to  me  I  can  never  split  it.  But 
I  bravely  make  the  attempt.  The  first  blow  makes 
little  impression.  The  axe  springs  back  with  a 
bound.  Again  and  again  I  strike. .  Then  a  tiny 
crack  appears.  A  few  more  licks— and  the  block 
yields.  I  have  succeeded.  Can  you  tell  me  which 
blow  did  the  work  ?  Was  it  not  the  first  blow  and 
the  last  and  all  between?  You  have  tried  some- 
thing and  failed.  ^Try  again.  If  you  fail,  try  once 
more.  And  on  and  on,  keep  trying  until  you  win 
the  victory. 


BEAUTIFUL  EYES. 

Eyes  like  the  violet — in  them  I  see 

All  that  is  fair,  that  is  holy  to  me ! 

Eyes  that  shed  fragrance,  so  constant,  so  true, 

Pure  as  a  clear  drop  of  morning  dew. 

Eyes  like  the  violet,  gently  along 

Lead  me  to  vespers — to  prayer  and  to  song. 

Eyes  like  the  violet,  let  me  I  pray 

Live  within  range  of  thy  glances  all  day! 


GOING  WITH  THE  CROWD. 

"But  all  the  girls  went,  mother.  I  didn't  like 
to  be  the  only  one  left  out.  Besides,  when  I  said  I 
wouldn't  go  they  all  laughed  at  me  and  said  that 
I  was  a  coward. ' ' 

It  was  Wednesday  morning,  before  school  time, 
and  Anna  was  dreading  to  go  back  to  school— 
dreading  to  meet  her  teacher.  The  day  before  a 
circus  had  been  in  town.  At  recess,  while  the 
children  were  on  the  playground,  they  heard  the 
noise  of  the  band,  and  one  of  the  girls  said: 

" Let's  go  and  see  the  parade." 

"All  right,"  said  Anna.  "I'll  go  and  ask  the 
teacher  if  we  may." 

"No;  don't  ask  her— she  might  say  no.  We  can 
get  back  before  the  bell  rings,  and  she  will  never 
know  that  we  left  the  grounds." 

81 


82  GOING    WITH   THE    CROWD. 

Anna  and  one  or  two  other  girls  held  back.  They 
all  knew  that  it  was  against  the  rules  to  go  off  the 
playground  at  recess  without  permission. 

' 'Oh,  come  on!  Come  on!"  insisted  one  of  the 
girls.  "You're  afraid;  you're  afraid!  Come  on! 
Don't  be  such  a  coward;  all  the  rest  are  going." 

And  so  Anna  went. 

When  the  girls  saw  the  parade  pass  one  point 
they  wanted  to  see  it  once  more,  and  away  they 
went  through  the  cross  street  to  get  to  another 
corner  ahead  of  the  procession.  School  was  for- 
gotten; and  when  they  did  remember,  recess  time 
was  long  past  and  it  was  too  late  to  go  back. 

The  next  morning,  as  Anna  stood  in  the  kitchen 
talking  it  over  with  her  mother,  her  little  heart 
was  very  heavy.  She  knew  she  had  done  wrong; 
she  dreaded  to  go  to  school;  and  she  was  very 
unhappy. 

"Perhaps,"  said  her  mother,  "if  you  had  been 
brave  about  not  going,  the  other  girls  would  have 
stayed  on  the  school  grounds  too.  Or,  if  you  had 
asked  the  teacher,  I  think  she  would  have  let  you 
all  go.  But  whether  she  did  or  not,  it  is  never  safe 
to  do  a  thing  just  because  '  all  the  rest  do  it. '  Go- 
ing with  the  crowd  is  not  a  good  plan  unless  you 
are  sure  that  the  crowd  is  going  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. The  only  wise  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  be 
sure  you  are  right,  and  then  stick  to  it  and  never 
mind  what  the  crowd  does." 

"I  didn't  mean  to  do  wrong,"  said  Anna,  as  the 
tears  started  in  her  eyes. 


"MOTHEB,  I'M  So  HAPPY.    TEACHER  FORGAVE  ME!" 


84  GOING    WITH   THE    CROWD. 

"I  know  that,  my  dear,"  said  her  mother,  "but 
you  were  more  afraid  of  being  teased  than  you 
were  of  doing  wrong.  I  hope  you  will  remember 
from  this  day  forward  that  the  brave  girl  is  not 
the  girl  who  dares  to  do  wrong,  but  the  brave  girl 
is  the  one  who  does  what  she  knows  to  be  right, 
in  spite  of  the  taunts  and  jeers  of  her  playmates. ' ' 

"What  shall  I  tell  my  teacher?"  asked  Anna  in 
a  low  voice,  as  she  dropped  her  head. 

"Oh,"  said  her  mother,  kissing  her,  "you  go 
right  straight  to  your  teacher  and  tell  her  that 
you  have  done  wrong,  and  that  you  are  sorry  for 
it.  Ask  her  to  let  you' say  so  to  the  whole  school. 
Be  sure  to  beg  her  pardon,  and  promise  not  to  do 
so  again. ' ' 

Little  Anna  did  as  her  mother  told  her.  That 
afternoon,  when  she  came  back  from  school,  she 
ran  into  her  mother's  arms  and  said: 

"Mother,  I'm  so  happy.  Teacher  forgave  me, 
and  I  mean  to  be  good. ' ' 

And  the  smile  on  Anna's  face. spoke  plainly  of  a 
happy  heart. 


MAEY  AND  HER  DOLLS. 

Was  there  ever  a  time  when  the  first  doll  was 
born!  Was  there  ever  a  time  when  little  boys 
and  girls,  especially  little  girls,  did  not  love  dolls 
and  did  not  have  something  of -that  nature  to  play 


MARY  AND  HER  DOLLS. 


85 


with?  It  would  appear  that  dolls,  or  playthings 
somewhat  like  unto  dolls,  are  as  old  as  babies 
themselves — that  is  to  say,  boys  and  girls,  that 
ever  since  there  have  been  little  children  in  the 


MABY  AND  HER  DOLLS. 


world  there  have  been  little  things  for  them  to 
play  with.  And  I  never  saw  a  sane  person  in  my 
life  who  regrets  that  it  is  so.  It  is  not  only  amus- 
ing, it  is  inspiring  to  see  the  little  children  making 


86  MARY  AND  HER  DOLLS. 

.merry  with  their  dolls  and  their  toy  animals  and 
their  little  express  wagons  and  their  wooden  guns 
and  their  toy  steam  engines  and  their  whistles  and 
their  balloons  and  their  brownies  and  their  jump- 
ing-jacks  and  their  hobby-horses  and  a  hundred 
and  one  other  things. 

Mary  had  put  away  her  dolls  for  the  night  and 
was  cleaning  the  doll  house  when  papa  came  in. 

"How  many  doll  babies  have  you  now,  Mary?" 
he  asked. 

"I  have  five  dolls  now,  papa,"  said  Mary,  "but 
only  one  is  a  baby— that  is  little  Flossie.  Bobbie 
and  Nell  are  three  years  old  now;  Mattie  is  two 
and  Jerusha  is  one  year  old.  Flossie  is  now  the 
only  little  baby." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Smithson  smiled. 
•    "Well,"  he  said  after  a  time,  "five  dolls  make 
a  big  family,  I  think." 

"I  don't,"  said  Mary  quickly.  "Rolla  Mays 
has  thirteen  girls  and  two  boys  in  her  doll  family, 
and  I  haven't  but  five  in  all!" 

"I  shouldn't  think,"  said  Dr.  Smithson,  "that 
Rolla  would  know  what  to  do  with  so  many. ' ' 

1 1  Why,  papa,  of  course  she  does ! ' ' 

"Mary,"  said  Dr.  Smithson,  looking  thought- 
fully at  his  little  daughter,  "I  have  a  little  girl  in 
my  Sunday  school  class  who  hasn't  a  single  doll. 
I  thought  you  might  like  to  give  her  one  of  yours. 
You  could  spare  one— couldn't  you?" 

"Oh,  papa,  I  couldn't— not  a  one,"  exclaimed 
Mary. 


MARY  AND  HER  DOLLS.  87 

"Not  one— when  this  poor  little  girl  hasn't 
any?" 

"Oh,  papa,  I  love  my  dolls  so— how  can  I  give 
them  away?" 

"You'd  have  four  left— wouldn't  that  be 
enough  ? ' ' 

Mary  thought  a  long  while  before  speaking.  She 
looked  distressed. 

"Papa,"  she  said  at  last,  "Mrs.  Grant  was  over 
here  the  other  day,  and  she  said  that  she  wished 
you  and  mamma  would  give  me  to  her  because  she 
didn't  have  any  little  girl  of  her  own.  You've  got 
five  children  yourself,  papa— but  would  you  give 
any  of  'em  away  just  because  you  would  have  four 
left?" 

Dr.  Smithson  took  his  little  daughter  in  his 
arms  and  kissed  her. 

"No,  dear,"  he  said;  "papa  wouldn't  give  any 
one  of  his  children  away.  You  may  keep  all  of 
your  dollies,  and  we'll  think  of  some  other  way 
to  help  poor  little  Hattie." 

The  next  morning  Mary  said: 

"Papa,  I  have  thought  it  all  out  for  Hattie. 
You  know  I  have  been  saving  up  a  little  money 
to  buy  me  a  little  iron  bank— but  I  can  wait  for 
that.  I  have  saved  up  fifty  cents— don't  you  think 
that  will  be  enough  to  buy  a  nice  little  dolly  for 
Hattie,  and  let  me  keep  my  babies?" 

Dr.  Smithson  knew  that  Mary  had  long  been 
planning  for  the  bank.  So  he  asked: 


88  MARY  AND  HER  DOLLS. 

"Are  you  quite  sure  that  you  want  to  spend 
your  money  in  this  way?'7 

"Yes,  papa,  I'm  very  sure,"  said  Mary  with  a 
smile,  though  there  was  a  hint  of  sadness  in  her 
eyes. 

Dr.  Smithson  and  Mary  bought  Hattie  a  pretty 
doll.  Hattie  was  overjoyed  when  she  saw  it.  Mary 
went  back  home,  glad  that  her  papa  had  under- 
stood how  she  loved  her  dolls,  and  glad  to  find 
that  not  one  of  her  beloved  children  was  missing. 


JAKY  TOLBERT'S  PLAYMATES, 

"Well,  Johnnie,  where  are  you  going  this  morn- 
ing?" askrd  Mrs.  Jones  as  her  little  boy  started 
towards  the  gate. 

"I'm  goin'  over  to  Jaky's,  mamma;  you  know 
I  must  go  over  to  Jaky  's  every  day. ' ' 

What  do  you  find  at  Jaky's  to  make  you  so 
anxious  to  go  over  there  every  day  almost  before 
you  are  out  of  bed  good  ? ' ' 

"Oh,  mamma,  Jaky  has  the  nicest  playmates 
over  to  his  house  you  'most  ever  saw." 

"Who  else  goes  over  to  Jaky's  besides  you?" 
asked  Mrs.  Jones. 

"Jaky  don't  have  no  reg'lar  visitor  but  me," 
said  Johnnie  proudly.  '  *  Me  an '  Jaky  is  the  whole 
thing." 


JAKY  TOLBERT'S  PLAYMATES. 


89 


"Well,  you  are  saying  a  good  deal  for  yourself 
when  you  say  that  Jaky  has  the  nicest  playmates 
in  the  world— don't  you  think  so?" 

"I    didn't    mean    me,"    explained    Johnnie. 


"I'M  GOING  OVER  TO  JAKY'S,  MAMMA." 


90  JAKY    TOLBERT'S  PLAYMATES. 

"  Jaky's  playmates  ain't  folks  at  all.  Jaky's  play- 
mates is  animals— just  animals,  but  I  do  believe 
that  they  have  got  as  much  sense  as  some  folks  I 
know. ' ' 

'  *  What  kind  of  animals  ? ' '  asked  Mrs.  Jones,  be- 
coming interested. 

Then  Johnnie  went  on  to  explain.    He  said: 

"Jaky's  got  chickens  and  dogs  and  cats  and 
birds.  He's  got  names  for  all  of  'em,  and  they 
all  know  their  names  and  they  just  run  to  Jaky 
when  he  calls  them.  The  chickens  and  birds,  too, 
will  just  walk  right  up  and  eat  out  of  Jaky's  hand. 
And  his  trained  dogs  and  cats  are  just  the  funniest 
things  I  ever  saw.  His  little  dog,  Trip,  can  carry 
a  gun  and  obey  the  commands,  "Carry  arms!" 
"Present  arms!"  "Parade  rest!"  just  like  a  little 
soldier.  One  time  at  a  fair  he  saw  trained  dogs 
and  horses,  elephants,  and  even  lions.  Then  he 
decided  that  he  would  train  some  animals  himself. 
And,  mamma,  he  has  done  well.  Why,  he's  got  a 
cat  that  can  spell  some  words.  Jaky  printed  some 
letters  of  the  alphabet  on  separate  cards,  and  he 's 
got  a  cat  that  will  pick  out  the  right  ones  every 
time.  One  of  his  little  dogs  can  play  the  fiddle. 
It  may  seem  strange,  but  he  certainly  can  do  it. 
He  can  hold  the  fiddle,  and  draw  the  bow  across  it 
just  the  right  way,  and  he  can  play  a  little  tune. 
Jaky  calls  it  a  dog  tune,  and  I  think  he  ought  to 
know. 

"You  just  ought  to  see  Jaky's  chickens— he's 
got  six  of  'em.  He  calls  them  and  they  all  come 


JAKY    TOLBERT'S  PLAYMATES.  91 

running.  Then  he  holds  out  his  arm,  and  calls 
them  by  name,  and  they  will  jump  up  on  his  little 
arm,  one  after  the  other,  and  will  sit  there  until 
Jaky  tells  them  to  jump  down.  And  Jaky  is  so 
kind  to  his  two  birds  that  they  won't  fly  away 
when  he  lets  them  out  of  their  cages  for  a  little 
while.  He  can  take  them  up  in  his  arms  and  pat 
them  gently,  and  then  he  puts  them  down,  and 
they  will  lie  still  right  by  Jaky  until  Jaky  calls 
them  by  name  and  tells  them  to  go  into  the  house 
—that  is,  I  mean,  into  their  cages. 

"By  the  way,  mama,  I  forgot  to  tell  you.  Jaky 
is  getting  up  an  animal  show,  and  he  says 
that  I  am  to  be  his  manager.  He 's  going  to  print 
the  cards  to-day.  He's  going  to  call  his  circus, 
"JAKY  TOLBERT'S  GREAT  ANIMAL  SHOW 
-THE  GREATEST  SHOW  ON  EARTH,"  and 
he's  going  to  make  me  the  manager  of  his  circus. 
Won't  that  be  fine?  You'll  come  and  see  it— 
won't  you!  We're  going  to  charge  only  one  cent 
for  you  to  come  in.  Oh,  it's  going  to  be  great, 
and  I  don 't  want  you  to  miss  it. ' ' 

"  To  be  sure,  I  '11  come, ' '  said  Mrs.  Jones.  < '  Tell 
Jaky  I'm  glad  to  hear  about  how  much  he  loves 
the  dumb  animals— every  manly  boy  ought  to 
love  and  protect  them." 

6  i  I  tell  you, ' '  said  Johnnie,  as  he  hurried  out  of 
the  gate,  "Jaky  will  fight  anybody  who  hallooes 
at  one  of  his  pets  or  mistreats  one  in  the  least. 
He's  just  as  kind  to  them  as  he  can  be.  Don't 
you  forget  the  show.  It'll  come  off  next  week." 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY. 

It  was  one  week  from  St.  Valentine's  Day,  and 
the  Berry  children  had  already  provided  a  num- 
ber of  the  tokens,  comic  and  otherwise,  which 
they  meant  to  send  to  their  friends.  Jack  pro- 
duced a  grotesque  and  awfully  exaggerated  cari- 
cature of  a  withered,  stoop-shouldered  old  woman, 
with  some  cruel  lines  of  doggerel  printed  be- 
neath it. 

"I'm  going  to  send  this  to  old  Mrs.  Gray,"  said 
Jack,  as  he  exhibited  the  comic  picture. 

Nearly  all  the  children  laughed,  and  said  that 
the  picture  and  the  words  beneath  it  would  just 
suit  the  old  woman.  Mrs.  Gray  was  an  old  and 
povetry-stricken  widow  woman,  and  many  of  the 
children  of  the  little  village  took  delight  in  play- 
ing tricks  on  her  on  Hallowe'en  and  Valentine 
nights.  In  this  way,  the  children,  especially  the 
boys,  had  made  her  life  so  miserable  that  the  old 
woman  often  said  that  she  hated  even  the  sight  of 
a  boy.  In  the  midst  of  the  merriment  over  the  pro- 
posed venture  of  Jack  Berry,  it  was  Lillie  Berry 
who  spoke  up,  saying,— 

* '  Jack,  I  tell  you  what  I  think.  I  think  we 
ought  to  give  Mrs.  Gray  a  genuine  surprise  next 
week.  She  has  had  so  many  ups  and  downs  in  this 
life,  I  really  believe  that  we  can  give  her  a  little 
pleasure  if  we  give  her  a  true— true  surprise.  Of 

92 


OLD  MRS.  GRAY. 


94  A   VALENTINE   PARTY. 

course,  all  the  boys  and  girls  will  be  invited  to 
join  in,  but  it  is  not  going  to  be  like  a  regular 
party,  but  something  like  the  '  surprise '  parties 
or  donation  parties  that  we  sometimes  give  the 
preacher;  we'll  just  put  the  things  on  the  door- 
step and  run,  the  way  we  do  with  valentines,  you 
know.  What  do  you  say  to  that,  Jack  1  And  what 
do  the  rest  of  you  think  1 ' ' 

Very  quickly  the  Berry  children  agreed  with 
what  Lillie  had  said,  and  immediately  they  set 
about  planning  for  the  valentine  party. 

The  night  of  February  fourteenth  was  clear, 
cold  and  moonless.  Across  the  fields  in  the  dark- 
ness, a  throng  of  merry  young  children,  with  a 
wagon  or  two  (little  goat  wagons)  piled  high  with 
baskets  and  bundles  and  wood,  slipped  silently 
toward  the  little  house  where  old  Mrs.  Gray  sat 
shivering  over  her  scanty  fire.  A  sudden  knock 
at  the  door  aroused  Mrs.  Gray  from  her  musing. 
She  hobbled  painfully  to  the  door.  Opening  it, 
she  saw  by  the  light  of  the  tallow  candle  a  basket 
of  rosy  apples  and  another  of  potatoes.  Nothing 
else  was  in  sight. 

A  second  knock  followed  almost  as  soon  as  the 
door  had  closed  on  the  two  baskets  which  were 
hurriedly  drawn  inside.  This  time  a  can  of  kero- 
sene oil  held  a  lonely  vigil  on  the  doorstep. 

"I  haven't  had  a  drop  in  my  lamp  for  two 
weeks, ' '  Jack  heard  the  old  lady  say,  as  she  peered 
out  eagerly  into  the  darkness  before  closing  the 
door. 


A   VALENTINE  PARTY.  95 

As  she  was  busy  filling  her  lamp,  she  was  inter- 
rupted by  a  third  knock,  which  resulted  in  a 
basket  filled  with  groceries  in  parcels  in  all  shapes 
and  sizes.  Great  tears  stood  in  Mrs.  Gray's  eyes, 
and  a  great  lump  arose  in  her  throat. 

At  last  knock  number  four  revealed  the  real 
Saint  Valentine— a  group  of  laughing  boys  and 
girls,  every  one  of  whom  carried  an  armful  either 
of  pine  or  oak  wood  for  the  stove. 

1  *  Where  shall  we  put  it?"  asked  Jack  Berry, 
as  eager  now  to  help  as  he  had  been  the  week 
before  to  tease.  Mrs.  Gray  was  rubbing  her  eyes, 
and  wondering  if  she  could  possibly  be-awake  and 
in  her  right  mind. 

' '  Wish  you  many  happy  returns  of  Valentine 's 
Day!"  said  Lillie  Berry,  as  she  slipped  into  the 
withered  hand  a  small  purse  containing  the  valen- 
tine money  of  the  boys  and  girls;  and  before  the 
bewildered  woman  could  say  more  than  a  fervent 
"God  bless  you,"  her  guests  had  melted  away  in 
the  darkness,  and  she  was  left  to  weep  tears  of 
thankfulness  among  her  new  possessions. 


"NO  MONEY  DOWN." 

Boys  and  girls,  I  suppose  you  are  quite  familiar 
with  what  is  known  as  buying  things  on  the  instal- 
ment plan.  You  have  seen  people  in  your  own 
neighborhood— perhaps  in  your  own  homes— buy 


Q6  NO   MONEY   DOWN. 

things  that  way.  Chairs,  tables,  bed-steads,  rugs, 
pictures,  things  for  the  kitchen  and  things  to 
wear,  and  many  other  things  are  bought  that  way. 
Most  people  think  they  are  getting  a  great  bar- 
gain when  they  are  able  to  buy  things  by  paying 
a  small  amount  in  cash  as  the  first  payment— say 
fifty-cents  or  a  dollar— and  then  pay  the  balance 
in  small  weekly  or  monthly  payments.  And  espe- 
cially do  some  of  our  mothers  and  fathers  think 
that  they  are  ^get ting  a  great  bargain,  if  they  are 
able  to  buy  things  they  want  for  "no  money 
down"  and  so  much  a  week.  In  such  matters,  my 
dear  boys  and  girls,  your  parents  are  making  a 
terrible  mistake  and  are  setting  you  a  wrong 
example.  They  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  when  they 
fall  into  the  habit  of  buying  anything  and  every- 
thing on  the  instalment  plan  or  on  the  ' '  no  money 
down"  plan,  that  a  day  of  reckoning  is  sure  to 
come ;  that  the  time  comes  when  they  must  pay  for 
everything  that  they  have  been  led  into  buying. 
Thoughtful  people— wise  people— prefer  to  pay 
"money  down"  when  they  buy  anything;  and 
this  habit  of  paying  as  they  go  helps  them  in  at 
least  two  ways.  First,  it  saves  money  in  their 
pockets,  and,  secondly,  it  keeps  them  from  run- 
ning in  debt. 

Children,  these  men  who  come  to  your  homes 
with  great  packs  on  their  backs  always  charge 
you  double  for  whatever  they  may  sell  you  on  the 
"no  money  down"  plan— no  matter  what  it  is! 
That  is  why  they  are  willing  to  make  the  terms  so 


NO   MONEY    DOWN.  97 

"easy,"  as  they  say.  In  the  end  they  profit  by 
their  schemes,  and  nobody  else  does  profit  by  their 
schemes  except  these  peddlers.  You  ought  to 
avoid  them  as  you  would  a  wild  beast.  You  do 
not  know  now,  boys  and  girls,  what  a  terrible 
thing  debt  is.  I  honestly  hope  that  you  may  never 
know,  and  if  you  will  take  the  advice  of  older  and 
wiser  persons  I  am  sure  you  will  always  be  free? 
from  the  bondage  of  debt. 

Not  long  ago,  I  saw  two  women  standing  at  the 
window  of  one  of  these  "no  money  down'7  or 
"hand-me-down"  stores.  One  said  to  the  other— 

' '  I  just  believe  I  '11  get  me  a  new  cloak  this  win- 
ter. My  cloak  didn't  cost  but  three  dollars,  and 
it  is  so  old  and  shabby  that  I  am  ashamed  to  wear 
it  in  the  street.  Look  at  that  beauty  over  there  in 
the  corner.  Only  ten  dollars  and  'no  money 
down'." 

"Yes;"  said  her  companion,  "but  I  guess  the 
money  will  have  to  come  down  sometime." 

"Oh,  of  course;  but,  you  know,  I  won't  have  to 
pay  it  all  at  once.  I  could  probably  get  it  for  £fty 
cents  a  week." 

"Well,  why  don't  you  just  save  the  fifty  cents  a 
week  until  you  have  enough  to  pay  *  cash  down '  for 
the  cloak,  and  in  that  way  you  would  save,  I  am 
sure,  three  or  four  dollars;  because  you  can  buy 
that  same  cloak  for  six  dollars  or  seven  dollars  in 
cash." 

"Oh,"  said  the  woman,  "I'd  never  save  it  as  I 


98  NO   MONEY   DOWN. 

would  if  I  had  the  cloak  and  knew  that  I  just  had 
to  pay  for  it." 

"But,  Delia,  the  cloak  would  not  really  be  yours 
until  you  had  paid  for  it,  and  I  would  feel  kind  of 
cheap  wearing  a  cloak  that  didn't  belong  to  me. 
If  I  were  you  I  would  stick  to  the  old  cloak  until 
I  could  pay  the  money  down  for  a  new  one.  That 's 
what  I  would  do." 

And  that  is  exactly  what  anybody  should  do 
who  wants  a  new  cloak.  It  is  what  people  should 
do,  no  matter  what  they  want.  I  know  a  boy 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old  who  had  the  courage 
and  the  manliness  and  the  honesty  to  wear  a  very 
shabby  old  overcoat  all  of  last  winter  rather  than 
buy  one  on  the  "no  money  down  ".plan.  It  is  his 
plan  always  to  "pay  as  he  goes,"  and  be  debtor 
to  110  one. 

I  heard  the  other  day  of  a  young  fellow  who 
goes  two  or  three  blocks  out  of  his  way  to  avoid 
passing  certain  stores  because  he  owes  the  pro- 
l>rietors  of  those  stores  money  that  he  cannot  pay. 
That  boy,  I  know,  is  miserable  night  and  day. 
Mr.  Longfellow,  in  his  "The  Village  Blacksmith," 
tells  us  that- the  honest  old  blacksmith  could  look 
* '  the  whole  world  in  the  face, ' '•  because  he  did  not 
owe  anybody  anything— he  was  out  of  debt.  And 
boys  and  girls,  if  you  are  level-headed,  you  will 
fight  shy  of  the  "no  money  down"  plan.  By 
choosing  the  "money  dowi"  plan,  you  will  save 
your  self-respect  and  your  good  name. 


TOMMY'S  BABY  BKOTHEE. 

For  several  months  Deacon  Tadpole's  little  son, 
Tommy,  had  made  constant  and  repeated  reference 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  no  little  baby  brother  or 
sister  to  play  with.  One  day,  when  he  was  feeling 
unusually  sad  over  his  misfortune,  he  said  to  his 
father, - 

"Papa,  I  ain't  got  no  little  baby  brother  to  play 
with— you  might  at  least  buy  me  a  little  pony." 

"Papa  can't  buy  a  pony,  son;"  said  the  deacon. 
"A  pony  costs  too  much.  I  thought  you  wanted 
a  little  brother  or  sister. ' ' 

"I  do,"  said  Tommy,  "but  if  I  can't  get  what  I 
Tvant  I'm  willing  to  take  what  I  can.  get." 

"But,  you  would  rather  have  a  little  brother 
than  a  pony,  wouldn't  you?"  asked  Mr.  Tadpole. 

Tommy  thought  awhile  and  then  said  he 
thought  he  would  rather  have  a  little  baby  brother 
than  to  have  a  pony. 

"You  see,"  he  said,  "it  costs  so  much  to  keep 
a  pony,  and  we  would  have  to  build  a  stable  for 
him,  wouldn't  we,  papa?" 

"Yes,"  answered  his  father,  "and  we  haven't 
got  any  room  in  the  backyard  for  a  stable." 

"And  we'd  have  to  buy  hay,  too,"  said  the 
child. 

"Yes,"  said  his  father. 

"Well,  I'd  rather  have  the  little  brother." 

99 


100          TOMMY'S  BABY  BROTHER. 

So  the  matter  was  left  in  abeyance  until  a  month 
ago,  when  little  Tommy  was  told  one  morning  that 
a  little  brother  had  come  to  him. 


"PAPA,  WON'T  You  BUY  ME  A  LITTLE  PONY?' 


TOMMY'S  BABY  BROTHER.  101 

He  was  delighted.  He  danced  around  in  the  hall 
and  made  such  a  racket  on  the  stairs  that  the 
nurse  threatened  to  have  him  sent  away.  When 
he  was  permitted  to  see  the  baby,  Tommy  went 
into  ecstasies.  He  wanted  to  kiss  the  baby,  and 
cried  because  they  wouldn't  let  him  hold  it  in  his 
arms. 

But  Tommy's  enthusiasm  for  the  new  baby 
began  to  wear  off  in  about  a  week's  time.  It  was 
always,  "Sh-sh!  Sh-sh!  You'll  wake  the  baby," 
or  "'.tommy,  you  must  be  more  quiet!"  or  "You 
can't  come  in  this  room  now!" 

In  fact,  the  little  baby  brother  seemed  to  be  in- 
terfering with  little  Tommy's  fun  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  decided  to  go  to  his  father  and  see 
if  some  new  arrangement  could  not  be  made. 
Tommy  found  his  father  in  the  library.  He  ran  to 
Deacon  Tadpole  and  climbed  upon  his  knee,  and 
said: 

"Papa,  I  don't  believe  I  want  my  little  brother 
any  more.  I  can't  have  any  fun  with  him.  I'll 
tell  you  what  let's  do.  Let's  trade  him  for  a 
pony. ' ' 

"Oh,  we  couldn't  do  that,"  said  the  deacon. 

Tommy  was  silent  for  a  time.    Then  he  said : 

"Well,  I  don't  suppose  we  could  find  anybody 
that  would  want  to  trade  a  pony  for  him,  but  don 't 
you  think  you  could  trade  him  for  a  goat?" 


KEEPING  SCHOOL. 

Every  boy  and  girl  in  America  ought  to  go  to 
school.  The  public  school  is  one  of  the  best  insti- 
tutions connected  with  the  life  of  our  nation.  But 
did  you  ever  hear  of  a  little  girl  who  went  to 
school  to  herself?  I  have,  and  I  want  to  tell  you 
about  it. 

We  will  call  her  Tootsie. 

There  was  no  school-house,  and  no  teachers; 
nothing  only  just  little  Tootsie ;  not  even  her  dolls ; 
just  simply  Tootsie  sitting  all  alone  on  the  couch 
near  the  window.  That  was  all  there  was  to  this 
little  school,  so  far  as  anybody  could  see. 

But  Tootsie  said  she  had  a  large  school,  with 
some  sixty  pupils.  Sometimes  she  would  say  that 
her  scholars  had  been  naughty  and  that  they 
would  have  to  stay  in  at  recess;  and  then  again 
she  would  say  that  they  had  been  promoted  to  a 
higher  grade;  she  often  talked  to  her  pupils  as  if 
they  were  real  live  people,  telling  them  how  they 
should  stand  and  how  they  should  sit  and  giving 
them  permission  to  be  excused,  and  so  on.  So  you 
see  it  seemed  in  Tootsie 's  mind  very  much  more 
li  ke  a  real  school  than  it  could  to  us. 

Every  morning,  when  Tootsie 's  sister  would 
start  for  school,  Tootsie  would  watch  her  until 
she  was  out  of  sight,  and  then  she  would  go  and 

sit  down  on  the  couch.     Not  having  a  true-true 

102 


KEEPING  SCHOOL. 


103 


school  book,  she  would  take  her  Christmas  story 
books.  At  first  she  would  only  look  at  the  pic- 
tures and  try  to  think  what  the  story  about  them 
must  be.  Then  she  would  ask  mamma  or  grandma, 
or  whoever  happened  to  be  nearest,  what  the 
words  of  the  picture-story  were.  She  would  then 
say  the  words  of  the  story  over  to  herself  and  look 


TOOTSIE! 

at  the  picture.  Next  day  she  would  read  over  the 
words  of  the  same  story  as  far  as  she  could  remem- 
ber them,  and  when  she  came  to  a  word  that  she 
did  not  know,  up  she  would  jump  and  go  and  ask 
some  one  what  it  was.  When  she  had  learned  a 
story  herself,  she  would  then  talk  to  her  sixty 


104  KEEPING    SCHOOL. 

imaginary  scholars  about  it,  showing  them  the 
picture  and  explaining  the  story  to  them  just  as 
though  the  children  were  all  there  before  her  in 
her  little  school  room. 

In  this  way  Tootsie  went  through  one  after 
another  of  her  story  books,  picking  out  the  stories 
that  had  pleasing  pictures. 

But  the  nice  thing  of  it  all  was  that  Tootsie  was 
really  learning  to  read,  and  she  did  get  so  that  she 
read  real  well;  for  she  knew  just  what  she  was 
reading  about,  and  often,  when  she  would  find  a 
story  that  was  funny,  she  would  laugh  right  out 
even  if  she  was  at  school,  and  then  she  would  find 
mama  or  grandma  and  read  the  funny  part  to 
them. 

Maybe  one  reason  why  Tootsie  learned  so  fast 
was  because  her  school  was  just  like  play  to  her 
and  not  like  work.  Of  course,  it  is  easier  to  play 
than  it  is  to  work.  But  could  you  think  of  any 
better  thing  to  play  than  to  play  keeping  school? 
Why  not  try  it?  It  helped  Tootsie  wonderfully, 
and  I  believe  it  would  help  many  other  boys  and 
girls.  What  do  you  think  about  it? 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  STREET. 

Little  Joe,  ten  years  old,  had  followed  his  busi- 
ness as  a  newsboy  and  bootblack  in  Smutville  for 
three  or  four  years,  and,  of  course,  had  turned  out 
to  be  a  first-class  little  citizen  of  the  street.  He 
could  curse  and  swear,  and  drink  and  smoke,  just 
the  same  as  any  old  hardened  sinner. 

One  day,  after  Joe  had  finished  one  of  his  daily 
fights  with  some  other  small  boy,  a  kind-hearted 
gentleman  stepped  up  to  him  and  said,— 

"My  little  man,  do  you  go  to  school! " 

"Nope,"  said  Joe. 

"Do  you  go  to  Sunday-school?" 

"Nope." 

"Well,"  said  the  gentleman,  "what  do  you 
expect  to  do  when  you  are  grown?" 

"I  ain't  going  to  wait  till  I'm  grown -I'm 
going  to  be  a  jockey;  that's  what  I'm  going  to 
be." 

"How  would  you  like  to  be  bank  cashier  or 
president  of  a  great  bank?  Wouldn't  you  like 
that  better?" 

"Yep,"  said  the  boy,  "but  a  poor  boy  can't  get 
no  job  like  that— now  you  know  he  couldn't." 

' '  Oh,  yes ;  he  could  if  he  were  to  prepare  himself 
for  it.  But  a  poor  boy,  and  no  other  boy,  will  ever 
be  a  great  business  man  if  he  is  going  to  live  for- 

105 


106 


THE   SCHOOL    OF   THE    STREET. 


LITTLE  JOE. 


ever  in  the  street- 
cursing  and  swearing 
and  fighting  and,  it 
may  be,  stealing,  and 
having  no  higher  am- 
bition than  to  be  a 
jockey.'' 

"Are  you  a  par- 
son ?"  asked  the  boy, 
becoming  interested. 

"No,  but  I  am  in- 
terested in  little  boys. 
I  am  the  secretary,  of 
the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association 

and  we  have  a  boys'  department,  I  want  you  to 
join  it.  I  have  found  out  about  your  habits  and 
your  surroundings ;  I  was  told  of  the  death  of 
your  mother  and  father;  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  come  and  ask  you  to  come  over  to  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  and  live  with  us. 
You  may  continue  to  sell  your  papers  and  black 
boots,  but,  you  see,  living  with  us,  you  can  go  to 
school  at  night,  and  some  day  you  will  have  a  good 
education— and  you  might  be  a  bank  cashier." 

Little  Joe  took  this  good  man's  advice  and  went 
to  live  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building.  He  did  not 
turn  out  to  be  a  bank  cashier  or  president,  but 
what  was  better,  Joe  turned  out  to  be  a  General 
Secretary  of  one  of  the  largest  Y.  M.  C.  A.  's  among 
the  colored  people  of  this  country,  and  in  that  way 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  STREET.    107 

has  been  instrumental  in  saving  a  great  many 
other  boys  from  the  gutter. 

But  Joe  would  never  have  amounted  to  anything 
if  he  had  not  been  taken  away  from  the  wicked 
influences  of  the  street,  and  placed  on  the  road  to 
higher  things.  The  worst  school  in  this  world 
that  any  boy  can  go  to  is  the  school  of  the  street. 
The  school  of  the  street  turns  out  the  most  impure, 
the  most  dishonest  and  the  most  illiterate  boys, 
and  those  boys  and  girls  who  ever  rise  to  be  any- 
thing or  anybody  in  the  world  are  the  ones  who 
leave  the  influences  of  the  street  in  due  time,  as 
Little  Joe  did.  The  street  offers  most  of  its  work 
and  most  of  its  attractions  at  night,  as  many  boys 
can  tell.  The  life  of  the  street  leads  to  no  career 
that  is  worth  following.  The  good  careers  are  made 
by  those  whom  the  street  has  not  had  a  chance  to 
spoil,  or  by  those  who  are  taken  out  of  the  streets 
before  they  become  hopeless  cases. 

There  is  no  greater  error  than  the  common 
notion  that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  let  a  boy  run  the 
streets  and  become  "hard"  and  "tough"  and 
"have  his  wits  sharpened"  and  make  "a  little 
man"  of  himself,  as  some  foolish  people  say.  A 
boy  learns  more  downright  mischief  in  one  night 
in  the  street  than  he  can  unlearn  in  the  home  in  six 
months.  And  so,  what  will  the  teaching  of  the 
home,  the  public  school  and  the  Sunday-school 
amount  to,  if  we  are  going  to  give  our  boys  in 
their  young  and  tender  years  the  freedom  of  the 
streets?  If  now  and  then  a  street  boy— that  is  to 


108    THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  STREET. 

say,  a  boy  hardened  in  the  ways  of  the  street  — 
does  get  a  good  place,  in  most  cases  he  will  lose  it 
and  fall  back  to  the  old,  free  life  of  the  gutter. 
The  boys  who  succeed  are  the  boys  who  get  away 
from,  or  who  are  taken  away  from,  the  influences 
of  the  street  and  who  are  surrounded  by  better 
and  more  wholesome  influences.  Those  who  re- 
main under  the  influences  of  the  street  become  in 
the  course  of  time  members  of  the  great  army  of 
beggars,  tramps  and  criminals.  It  is  a  great  pity 
that  there  should  be  so  many  stories  going  the 
rounds  which  tell  about  newsboys  and  messenger 
boys  and  so  on  rising  to  be  bank  clerks  and  tele- 
graph-operators and  so  forth.  On  the  whole,  these 
stories  are  misleading,  and  for  the  reason  that 
they  seem  to  give  the  impression  to  many  innocent 
toys  and  to  many  thoughtless  parents  that  the 
surest  way  to  give  a  boy  a  good  start  in  life  is  to 
send  him  out  into  the  streets  to  " rough  it"  and 
£  ght  his  way  to  the  front  over  beer  bottles,  games 
of  chance,  the  race-track,  and  the  pool  room,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  vulgar  jokes,  profane 
swearing  and  evil  associates.  I  repeat:  The  school 
of  the  street  is  the  worst  school  in  the  world,  and 
the  sooner  boys  get  out  of  it  the  better  it  will  be 
for  them. 


THE  FOX  HUNT. 

Uncle  Hambright  used  to  pride  himself  upon  his 
ability  to  invent  amusing  games  for  the  children. 
Sometimes  he  found  it  hard  to  think  of  anything 
new,  but  the  demands  of  the  children  were  so 
insistent  and  his  desire  to  please  them  always  was 
so  intense  that  it  often  happened  that  Uncle  Ham- 
bright  could  almost  make  a  way  out  of  no  way. 

Dinner-time  was  fast  approaching.  All  the 
morning,  the  half-dozen  little  children,  who  were 
spending  the  day  with  Uncle  Hambright  at  the 
Sunday-school  picnic,  had  been  playing  every  con- 
ceivable sort  of  game  and  had  been  enjoying  every 
imaginable  kind  of  story  told  in  Uncle  Ham's 
inimitable  way,— but  still  the  children  were  not 
satisfied.  "Just  one  more  story, "  or  "Just  one 
more  game, "  or  "  Give  us  your  best  game  now  for 
the  last  before  dinner, "  —  the  children  clamored 
one  after  another. 

"Very  well/'  said  Uncle  Ham.  "You  all  wait 
until  I  come  back,  and  then  we'll  play  fox-hunt- 
ing." 

Uncle  Ham  went  and  told  his  sister  and  her 
husband,  the  parents  of  the  little  children,  to  take 
the  dinner-baskets  far  into  the  woods  to  the  place 
which  they  had  already  agreed  upon  as  the  spot 
where  the  dinner-table  should  be  spread.  Coming 
back  to  the  children,  Uncle  Ham  said, 

109 


110 


•THE   FOX   HUNT. 


UNCLE  HAMBRIGHT. 


"  Now,  we  are  ready. 
Come  close  and  listen 
while  I  explain. ' ' 

With  anxious  hearts 
and  eager  faces,  and 
clapping  their  glad 
hands,  the  children 
gathered  around  Uncle 
Ham. 

"Now,"  said  he,  "I 
have  a  piece  of  chalk 
here  in  my  hand.  I  am 
going  to  make  something  like  this  wherever  I 
go  along."  While  he  was  speaking  he  made  a 
round  ring  on  the  fence  close  by.  He  put  marks 
for  the  ears  and  feet  and  a  mark  for  the  tail. 
Then  he  continued:  "This  is  the  fox.  I'm 
going  to  make  foxes  along^  the  path  that  I  take 
into  the  woods — sometimes  these  foxes  may  be  on 
fences,  sometimes  on  trees,  sometimes  on  rocks,-or 
anywhere  I  wish  to  place  them.  Whenever  you 
find  a  fox  you  will  know  that  you  are  on  the  right 
road,  and  you  must  be  sure  each  time  to  follow  in 
the  direction  that  the  head  of  the  fox  points.  Then 
you  won't  lose  your  way.  You  must  give  me  a 
little  start,  because  I  must  be  out  of  sight  before 
you  all  begin  the  hunt.  At  the  end  of  the  hunt,  if 
you  follow  carefully,  you  will  find  a  large  present 
waiting  for  each  one  of  you.  You  may  help  your- 
self to  whatever  you  like,  and  then  we  shall  all 
come  back  together,  because,  you  know,  I  will  be 


THE   FOX   HUNT.  .    Ill 

at  the  end  myself  waiting  for  you  when  you  come." 

It  seemed  that  the  ten  minutes  start  that  the 
children  had  agreed  to  give  Uncle  Hambright 
would  never  come  to  an  end,  so  eager  were  they 
to  begin  the  hunt.  By-and-by  the  time  came,  and 
they  were  off.  The  first  few  foxes  had  been  drawn 
on  the  board-walk,  so  the  hunters  had  easy  sailing 
for  a  little  while.  Pretty  soon,  however,  one  of  the 
girls  discovered  a  fox  on  a  tree,  and  the  head  of 
the  fox  pointed  right  into  the  woods.  At  first  the 
children  halted.  The  eldest  girl  said  finally,  after 
studying  a  few  minutes,— 

"Let's  go  on;  Uncle  Hambright  wouldn't  take 
us  where  anything  could  hurt  us,  and,  besides,  he 
said  he  would  be  waiting  at  the  end." 

Thus  re-assured,  all  of  them  plunged  into  the 
woods.  Once  in  the  woods  the  little  foxes  drawn 
on  trees  and  stumps  carried  them  right  along  by 
the  side  of  a  babbling  brook  for  a  long  distance. 
Sometimes  they  would  find  one  fox,  and  then  they 
would  find  it  very  hard  to  locate  the  next  one.  It 
was  great  fun  for  them  to  scurry  about  in  the 
woods,  examining  trees,  stumps,  rocks  and  every- 
thing, hunting  for  the  foxes.  Finally  one  of  the 
little  girls  found  a  fox  on  a  fence.  The  head  of 
the  fox  pointed  upwards.  The  little  child  said,— 

"This  little  fox  seems  to  be  pointing  to  heaven; 
I'm  sure  we  can't  go  up  there." 

"Oh,  no;"  said  the  oldest  girl,  again  coming  to 
the  rescue,— "I  think  that  that  litle  fox  leads  over 
the  fence— that's  all." 


112  THE  FOX  HUNT. 

So,  over  the  fence  they  jumped  and  continued 
the  chase. 

The  course  proved  to  be  zig-zag  now  for  a  few 


"WAIT  HEBE  UNTIL  I  RETURN." 

minutes,  and  the  children  found  the  foxes  more 
and  more  difficult  to  locate.  They  felt  safe  again, 
when  the  foxes  were  found  on  stones  or  rocks  lead- 


THE   FOX   HUNT.  113 

ing  up  the  side  of  a  hill.  The  woods  began  to  thin 
out,  and  the  children  were  no  longer  timid.  Up 
the  hill  they  went  with  a  merry  laugh  and  a  shout. 
Once  on  top  of  the  hill,  they  lost  their  course  again. 
After  a  time,  they  found  a  fox,  though,  and  that 
fox  pointed  straight  down  the  hill.  The  children 
bravely  followed.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  they 
came  suddenly  upon  an  open  space,  and  close  by 
there  was  a  great  big  fox  marked  upon  a  piece  of 
black  paste-board  and  standing  right  over  a  bub- 
bling spring  of  water. 

"  Uncle  Hambright  must  have  meant  for  us  to 
stop  here,"  said  one. 

"Maybe,  he  meant  for  us  to  stop  and  get  some 
water, "  said  another. 

One  or  two  of  the  fox-hunters  stopped  and 
drank  some  water.  Then  the  oldest  one  saidf— 

"Come  on  now,  let's  look  for  another  fox;  I 
guess  we  are  most  through  now." 

About  twenty  yards  away  from  the  spring,  the 
children  came  to  another  open  space  that  was  well 
shaded.  What  was  their  delight  and  surprise  to 
find  there  stretched  out  before  them  on  a  large 
white  table  cloth,  laid  on  the  bare  ground,  a  sump- 
tuous picnic-dinner.  And  in  the  middle  of  the 
table  there  was  a  true-true  stuffed  fox  with  a  large 
red  apple  in  his  mouth.  For  a  few  moments  the 
children  stood  around  the  table  in  bewilderment. 
But  they  were  not  to  be  kept  in  suspense  a  great 
while.  Pretty  soon,  Uncle  Hambright  and  mama 
and  papa  came  out  of  the  woods  near  by,  and  such 


114  THE  FOX  HUNT. 

a  laugh  as  went  around  that  picnic-dinner  was 
never  heard  before  or  since! 

At  the  close  of  the  meal,  the  children  all  voted 
that  that  was  the  best  game  that  Uncle  Ham  had 
played  during  the  day. 


A  BOLD  VENTUBE. 

"Mr.  Slocum,  good  morning,  sir;  I  came  around 
to  ask  you  to  lend  me  five  dollars. " 

Mr.  Slocum,  Manager  of  the  Harlem  Steamboat 
Company,  looked  up  from  his  desk  in  surprise 
when  he  heard  this  abrupt  announcement. 

" What's  that?"  he  asked  curtly. 

"Lend  me  five  dollars,"  said  the  little  boy  who 
had  first  addressed  him. 

"Who  are  you!"  demanded  Mr.  Slocum. 

"I'm  nobody,"  said  the  boy,— "nobody,  but  I 
want  you  to  lend  me  five  dollars. ' ' 

Mr.  Slocum,  who  was  generally  said  to  be  a  hard 
man  to  deal  with,  was  surprised  at  the  boy's  pre- 
sumption, yet,  nevertheless,  he  was  secretly 
pleased  at  the  boy's  frank  and  open  manner. 

"Do  you  know  what  borrowing  money  means?" 
asked  Mr.  Slocum,  rising  and  looking  down  upon 
the  diminutive  figure  standing  before  him.  The 
boy  was  barefooted,  held  his  hat  in  his  hand,  and 
his  hair  was  nicely  combed.  Mr.  Slocum  con- 


A  BOLD  VENTURE.  115 

tinned :  ' l  Don 't  you  know  when  a  person  borrows 
money  he  is  supposed  to  pay  it  back ! ' ' 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  the  boy;  "I  know  that.  You 
lend  me  the  money,  and  I'll  pay  it  back  all  right. 
I  only  want  it  for  three  months.  I  '11  pay  it  back. ' ' 

There  was  something  about  the  boy's  face  and 


"LEND  ME  FIVE  DOLLARS!" 


general  deportment  that  won  Mr.  Slocum's  favor. 
He  ran  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  pulled  out  a  five- 
dollar  bill  and  handed  it  to  the  boy. 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  as  he  turned  to 
go,—" thank  you,  sir;  I'll  pay  it  back." 


116  A  BOLD   VENTUEE. 

Three  months  later,  the  same  little  boy  entered 
Mr.  Slocum 's  office. 

"Here's  your  five  dollars,  Mr.  Slocum,"  said  the 
little  boy.  "I'm  much  obliged  to  you,  sir." 

"  Who  are  you  ? ' '  as  Mr.  Slocum,  as  he  reached 
out  and  took  the  money. 

"I'm  nobody,"  said  the  boy. 

"Well,  why  do  you  bring  me  this  money!" 

"Because  I  owe  it  to  you,"  explained  the  little 
fellow. 

The  boy  told  Mr.  Slocum  of  the  loan  made  three 
months  before,  and  made  Mr.  Slocum  recall  the 
transaction.  Mr.  Slocum  asked  him  to  have  a 
seat. 

"Well,  what  did  you  do  with  that  money?" 
asked  Mr.  Slocum. 

"Well,"  said  the  boy,  "I  was  hard  up  when  I 
called  on  you.  Me  and  my  ma  had  been  selling 
papers  for  a  living  up  to  that  time,  but  somehow 
we  had  got  behind  with  our  expenses.  House  rent 
was  due,  and  we  didn  't  have  nothing  to  eat.  I  had 
to  find  a  friend  somewhere.  So,  after  trying  two 
or  three  places  where  I  was  known  and  failing  to 
get  any  help,  I  decided  to  drop  in  here  and  see 
you.  You  know  the  result.  Well,  I  paid  my  rent 
for  a  week ;  rented  a  little  stand  for  my  ma  to  sell 
papers  on  the  corner,  while  I  continued  to  hustle 
in  the  street.  That  five  dollars  you  lent  me  give  me 
good  luck,  and  I  Ve  been  going  right  up  ever  since. 
Me  and  ma  are  living  in  a  better  place  now ;  we  Ve 
got  a  plenty  to  eat ;  and  we  Ve  got  a  plenty  of  fine 


A  HOLD  VENTURE.  117 

customers.  I  told  you  when  I  came  here  before 
that  I  was  nobody  then,  but  I'm  somebody  now, 
Mr.  Slocum, — anyhow,  I  feel  so — and  I  want  to 
thank  you  again  for  the  help  you  gave  me." 

The  boy's  story  pleased  Mr.  Slocum  very  much. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  took  an  interest  in  that 
boy,  and  continued  to  befriend  him. 

This  happened  many  years  ago.  Today  Tommy 
Tolliver — that  was  the -boy's  name — is  the  Assist- 
ant General  Manager  of  the  Harlem  Steamboat 
Company,  and  a  very  well-to-do  man.  Mr.  Slocum 
says  that  there  is  nobody  in  the  world  like  him. 
Tommy's  mother  died  some  years  ago,  but  she 
lived  long  enough  to  see  her  little  boy  taken  out  of 
the  streets,  put  to  school,  and  started  on  his  career 
of  usefulness. 


THE  EOAD  TO  SUCCESS. 

The  world  is  constantly  looking  for  the  man 
who  knows  the  most,  and  it  pays  little  regard  to 
those  who  are  proficient  in  the  usual  degree  in  the 
same  things.  One  must  excel,  or,  in  other  words, 
know  more  than  his  associates  in  order  to  succeed 
notably.  The  world  will  bid  high  for  you  if  you 
know  more  than  other  men. 


118 


THE    ROAD    TO    SUCCESS. 


So  that  boys  and  girls  who  are  preparing  them- 
selves for  the  duties  of  life  should  not  aim  simply 
at  being  as  good  as  somebody  else,  but  they  should 
aim  at  being  the  best  that  it  is  possible  to  be  in 
any  chosen  line  of  life  or  business.  I  have  noticed 
in  my  short  life-time  that  there  is  a  great  tendency 

on  the  part  of 
young  people  to 
cut  short  their 
education.  Being 
able  to  shine  in 
t  h  e  intellectual 


THE  ROAD  TO  SUCCESS. 

and  social  worlds  with  the  small  attainments  made 
in  some  college  or  normal  school  or  industrial 
school,  the  average  young  negro  man  is  content  to 
stop  with  a  diploma  or  certificate  from  one  or  an- 
other of  these  institutions.  They  will  never  realize 
what  injury  they  have  done  themselves  by  so  doing 
until  it  is  too  late.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
another  large  class  of  young  people  that  stop 
short  even  before  they  have  finished  the  course  in 
even  any  one  of  the  normal  or  industrial  schools. 
They  must  go  out  to  work;  they  know  enough  to 
make  a  living;  what's  the  use  of  so  much  educa- 


THE    ROAD    TO    SUCCESS.  119 

tion,  anyhow?  This  is  the  way  some  of  them  talk. 
This  is  what  some  of  them  believe.  Boys  and 
girls,  no  man  or  woman  with  such  low  ideals  will 
ever  reach  the  topmost  round  of  the  ladder  of 
fame.  Suchjboys  and  girls  will  always  play  a 
second-rate  part  in  the  great  drama  of  life.  The 
boys  and  girls  who  are  going  to  the  front — the 
boys  and  girls  who  are  going  to  have  the  leading 
parts— are  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  willing  to 
take  time  to  prepare  themselves.  And  prepara- 
tion means  hard  work ;  and  not  only  hard  work, 
but  hard  and  long-continued  work.  A  person  can 
learn  a  good  deal  in  one  year;  a  person  can  learn  a 
good  deal  in  two  years;  but  nobody  can  learn 
enough  in  one  or  two  years,  or  in  three  or  four 
years,  to  make  it  at  all  likely  that  he  will  ever  be 
sought  by  the  great  world. 

•  Aside  from  the  rudimentary  training,  it  ought 
to  take  at  least  ten  years  to  make  a  good  doctor, 
or  a  good  lawyer,  or  a  good  electrician,  or  a  good 
preacher.  Four  of  these  years  ought  to  be  spent 
in  college;  and  four  in  the  professional  school; 
and  the  other  two  ought  to  be  spent  in  picking  up 
a  practical  or  working  knowledge  of  the  calling- 
whatever  it  may  be.  The  young  doctor  obtains 
this  practical  knowledge  in  hospitals  and  in  prac- 
tice among  the  poor.  The  electrician  obtains  it  by 
entering  some  large  electrical  industry  or  manu- 
factory, in  which  a  thoroughly  practical  knowl- 
edge of  mechanical  engineering  and  electricity 
can  be  secured.  It  is  true  that  some  men  have 


120      EASTER  MONDAY  IN  WASHINGTON. 

become  distinguished  in  these  callings  without 
this  long  preparation  of  which  I  have  spoken ;  yet 
it  is,  also,  true  that*  they  would  have  been  better 
off — they  would  have  been  more  likely  to  have 
become  eminent — if  they  had  taken  the  longer 
course.  College  is  a  little  world  which  every  one, 
other  things  being  equal,  ought  to  enter  and  pass 
through  before  launching  in  the  great  world. 


KEEPING  ONE'S  ENGAGEMENTS. 

What  would  happen  if  everybody  should  begin 
tomorrow  to  keep  all  his  promises  and  fulfill  all 
his  engagements!  I  think  it  would  make  a  new 
world  at  once.  There  is  great  need  that  the  atten- 
tion of  young  people  should  be  called  to  the  im- 
portance of  keeping  engagements.  Much  of  the 
confusion  and  annoyance  and  trouble  of  this  world 
would  be  done  away  with  if  people  would  learn 
to  keep  their  promises.  The  oft-repeated  excuse, 
' i  I  forgot, ' '  is  not  reasonable.  If  the  memory  is  in 
the  habit  of  playing  tricks  with  you,  then  you 
ought  to  make  notes  of  your  engagements,  write 
them  down  in  some  way,  so  that  you  will  not 
forget  them.  Arnold  of  Rugby  said:  "Thought- 
lessness is  a  crime, ' '  and  he  was  right.  The  great 


KEEPING  ONE'S  ENGAGEMENTS. 


121 


Ruskin  has  also  uttered  strong  words  in  con- 
demnation of  thoughtlessness  in  youth.  He  said: 
"But  what  excuse  can  you  find  for  willfulness  of 
thought  at  the  very  time  when  every  crisis  of 


KEEPING  ONE'S  ENGAGEMENTS. 


future  fortune  hangs  on  your  decisions!  A  youth 
thoughtless!  when  the  career  of  all  his  days  de- 
pends on  the  opportunity  of  a  moment.  A  youth 
thoughtless!  when  his  every  act  is  a  foundation- 
stone  of  future  conduct,  and  every  imagination  a 


122         KEEPING  ONE'S  ENGAGEMENTS. 

fountain  of  life  or  death.  Be  thoughtless  in  any 
after  years  rather  than  now,  though,  indeed,  there 
is  only  one  place  where  a  man  may  be  nobly 
thoughtless— his  deathbed.  No  thinking  should 
ever  be  left  to  be  done  there." 

And,  then,  boys  and  girls  should  remember  that 
promptness  should  always  accompany  the  fulfill- 
ing of  an  engagement,  otherwise  the  engagement 
is  not  really  kept.  A  person 's  time  is  a  valuable 
possession,  which  should  be  respected  by  all.  Who 
has  not  been  exasperated  by  some  one  with  appar- 
ent indifference  keeping  (?)  an  engagement  a  half 
or  three-quarters  of  an  hour  late!  And  often  a 
whole  train  of  troubles  will  follow  in  the  wake  of 
tardiness.  The  punctual  boy  or  girl  in  this  life 
is  the  one  who  advances  most  rapidly.  The  punc- 
tual boy  or  girl  will  make  a  punctual  man  or 
woman.  A  promise-breaker,  or  one  who  is  late  in 
keeping  his  appointments,  cannot  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  term  be  considered  a  first-class  person. 


A  MIDNIGHT  MISHAP.* 

Uncle  Ned  returned  from  his  'possum  hunt  about 
midnight,  bringing  with  him  a  fine,  fat  'possum. 
He  built  a  glowing  fire,  dressed  the  'possum,  pared 
and  split  the  sweet  potatoes,  and  pretty  soon  he 
had  the  "  'possum  an'  'taters"  in  the  oven.  While 

*Published  in  Lippincott's. 


A    MIDNIGHT    MISHAP. 


123 


the  meal  was  cooking  Uncle  Ned  amused  himself 
with  his  favorite  old  banjo.    When  the  'possum 

had  been  baked  brown  and 
crisp  he  took  it  out  of  the 
oven  and  set  it  on  the 
hearth  to  give  it  time  to 
cool.  Mentally  congratu- 
lating himself  upon  the 
glorious  repast  he  thought 
soon  to  enjoy,  he  sat 
silently  for  awhile  in  the 
old  armchair,  but  pres- 
ently he  was  snugly  wrap- 
ped in  the  arms  of  "  tired 
nature's  sweet  restorer— 
balmy  sleep. ' ' 

It  happened  that  two 
young  fellows  who  were 
pretty  well  acquainted 
with  Uncle  Ned's  habits 
had  been  stealthily  watch- 
ing about  the  house  wait- 
ing this  particular  chance. 
As  soon  as  they  were  con- 
vinced that  the  old  man 
was  safe  in  the  arms  of 
Morpheus,  they  crept  into  the  house  and  hurriedly 
helped  themselves  to  Uncle  Ned's  supper,  includ- 
ing even  the  coffee  and  bread.  When  they  fin- 
ished the  hasty  meal,  by  way  of  attempting  to 
cover  up  their  tracks,  they  smeared  Uncle  Ned's 


A  MIDNIGHT  MISHAP. 


124  A    MIDNIGHT    MISHAP. 

hands  and  mouth  with  the  'possum  gravy  and 
then  beat  a  retreat. 

After  a  time  Uncle  Ned  aroused  from  his  peace- 
ful slumber.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  had 
dreamed  about  his  supper.  At  once  he  dived  down 
to  inspect  the  viands,  when,  lo  and  behold,  the 
hearth  was  empty!  Uncle  Ned  steadied  himself 
and  studied  awhile. 

"Well,"  said  he  finally,  "I  must  'a'  et  dat  'pos- 
sum; I  must  'a'  et  dat  'possum  in  my  sleep!" 

He  looked  at  his  hands.  They  were  greasy.  He 
smelt  his  hands.  As  he  did  so  he  said: 

i  i  Dat  smells  like  'possum  grease !  I  sho  must  'a ' 
et  dat  'possum. ' ' 

He  discovered  grease  on  his  lips.  Out  went  his 
tongue. 

"Dat  tas'es  like  'possum  grease,"  he  said.  He 
got  up.  He  looked  about  the  house.  There  was 
no  sign  of  intruders.  He  rubbed  his  stomach.  He 
resumed  his  seat,  and,  giving  up  all  for  lost,  he 
said: 

' t  Well,  ef  I  did  eat  dat  'possum,  hit  sets  lightah 
on  my  appertite  dan  any  'possum  I  evah  et  bef o '. ' ' 


FREDEBICK  DOUGLASS. 

In  1893  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  or 
World's  Fair,  was  held  in  Chicago  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  dis- 
covery of  America.  A  negro  man,  the  Hon.  Fred- 


FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  125 

erick  Douglass,  attended  that  exposition  and  de- 
livered an  address  on  negro  day.  Speaking  of  this 
great  man's  visit  the  Advance,  one  of  Chicago's 
great  religious  papers, -said: 

"It  was  fine  to  see  at  the  Congress  on  Africa 
the  tall  form  and  magnificent  head  of  the  grand 
old  man,  Frederick  Douglass,  now  seventy-five 
years  of  age,  perfectly  erect,  kindly,  majestic,  the 
'  ancient  fires  of  inspiration  welling  up  through  all 
his  being  yet';  affable  to  all;  finding  it  still  to  be 
as  natural  to  be  eloquent  as  to  speak  at  all ;  sym- 
pathetic to  the  core  with  the  people  of  his  own 
race,  yet  none  the  less  loyal  to  the  common  inter- 
ests of  all  the  people  of  his  country;  neither  blind 
to  the  obstacles  in  their  path  and  the  cruel  social 
injustice  and  meanness  to  which  they  are  often 
exposed,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  unmindful  of  the 
friends  they  have  in  the  South  as  also  in  the 
North,  or  above  all  to  the  over-shining  care  and 
purpose  of  God  Himself,  with  the  '  far-off  divine 
intent '  that  so  clearly  takes  in  the  future  of  both 
the  American  and  African  continents.  Few  Ameri- 
cans have  had  a  more  conspicuously  providential 
mission  than  Frederick  Douglass.  And  hardly 
anything  in  this  remarkable  congress  was  more 
eloquent  or  more  convincing  than  his  personal 
presence. ' ' 

Frederick  Douglass  was  born  a  slave,  and  his 
life  as  a  slave  was  one  of  peculiar  hardship.  Of 
it  he  himself  says  in  his  autobiography: 

"I  suffered  little  from  any  punishment  I  re- 


126  FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

ceived,  except  from  hunger  and  cold.  I  could  get 
enough  neither  of  food  or  clothing,  but  .suffered 
more  from  cold  than  hunger.  In  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer or  the  cold  of  winter  alike,  I  was  kept  almost 
in  a  state  of  nudity— no  shoes,  jackets,  trousers,  or 
stockings— nothing  but  a  coarse  tow  linen  shirt 
reaching  to  the  knee.  That  I  wore  night  and  day. 
In  the  day  time  I  could  protect  myself  by  keeping 
on  the  sunny  side  of  the  house,  and  in  bad  weather 
in  the  corner  of  the  kitchen  chimney.  The  great 
difficulty  was  to  keep  warm  at  night.  I  had  no 
bed.  The  pigs  in  the  pen  had  leaves,  and  the 
horses  in  the  stable  had  straw,  but  the  children 
had  nothing.  In  very  cold  weather  I  sometimes 
got  down  the  bag  in  which  corn  was  carried  to 
the  mill  and  got  inter  that.  My  feet  have  been  so 
cracked  by  frost  that  the  pen  with  which  I  am 
writing  might  have  been  laid  in  the  gashes. ' '  With 
regard  to  his  food  he  said  that  he  often  disputed 
with  the  dogs  over  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  his 
master's  table. 

Now  this  man,  born  so  lowly  and  surrounded 
by  such  circumstances,  turned  out  to  be  in  the 
course  of  time  by  hard  work  and  self-application 
one  of  the  most  influential  American  citizens  and 
one  of  the  greatest  orators  that  this  country  has 
ever  known.  Among  other  high  offices  of  trust 
and  responsibility,  he  was  once  marshal  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  recorder  of  deeds  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  United  States  minister  to 
Hayti. 


FEEDERICK    DOUGLASS.  127 

He  died  February  20th,  1895,  at  his  home  in 
Anacostia,  D.  C.,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 
A  monument  to  his  memory  has  been  erected  in 
Eochester,  N.  Y.,  where  he  once  lived. 

What  Frederick  Douglass  made  of  himself  is 
possible  for  any  American  boy  with  grit.  Every 
boy  and  girl  in  America  should  read  the  life  of 
this  pre-eminent  negro  and  strive  to  emulate  his 
virtues.  His  memory  is  worthy  to  be  honored  to 
the  last  day  of  time. 


OUR  DUMB  ANIMALS. 

Domestic  animals — like  horses,  cats  and  dogs — 
seem  to  be  almost  as  dependent  upon  kind  treat- 
ment and  affection  as  human  beings.  Horses  and 
dogs  especially  are  tlie  most  keenly  intelligent  of 
our  dumb  friends,  and  are  alike  sensitive  to 
cruelty  in  any  form.  They  are  influenced  to  an 
equal  degree  by  kind  and  affectionate  treatment. 

If  there  is  any  form  of  cruelty  that  is  more 
reprehensible  than  another,  it  is  abuse  of  a  faith- 
ful horse  who  has  given  his  whole  life  to  the  serv- 
ice of  the  owner.  When  a  horse  is  pulling  a  heavy 
load  with  all  his  might,  doing  the  best  ha  can  to 
move  under  it,  to  strike  him,  spur  him,  or  swear 
at  him  is  simply  barbarous.  To  kick  a  dog  around, 
to  tie  tin  cans  to  his  tail,  or  strike  him  with  sticks, 


128  OUR   DUMB   ANIMALS. 

just  for  the  fun  of  hearing  him  yelp  or  seeing  him 
run,  is  equally  barbarous.  No  high-minded  man, 
no  high-minded  boy  or  girl,  would  do  guch  a  thing. 
We  should  never  forget  how  helpless,  in  a  large 
sense,  dumb  animals  are— and  how  absolutely  de- 
pendent upon  the  humanity  and  kindness  of  their 
owners.  They  are  really  the  slaves  of  man,  having 


OUR  DUMB  ANIMALS. 


no  language  by  which  to  express  their  feelings  or 
needs. 

The  poet  Cowper  said: 

' '  I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends, 
Though  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine 

sense, 

Yet  wanting  sensibility,  the  man 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm." 

Every  boy  and  girl  should  be  willing  to  pledge 
himself  to  be  kind  to  all  harmless  living  creatures, 
and  every  boy  and  girl  should  strive  to  protect 


OUR    DUMB    ANIMALS.  129 

such  creatures  from  cruel  usage  on  the  part  of 
others.  It  is  noble,  boys  and  girls,  for  us  to  speak 
for  those  that  cannot  speak  for  themselves,  and  it 
is  noble,  also,  for  us  to  protect  those  that  cannot 
protect  themselves. 


A  PLUCKY  BOY. 

The  boy  marched  straight  up  to  the  counter. 

"Well,  my  little  man,"  said  the  merchant, 
"what  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"If  you  please,"  said  the  boy,  "I  came  in  to 
see  if  you  wouldn  't  let  me  work  for  you. ' ' 

The  boy  was  not  yet  ten  years  old,  and  he  was 
small  for  his  age.  But  there  was  something  in  his 
speech  or  manner  that  held  the  man's  attention. 

"Do  some  work  for  me,  eh?"  said  the  man. 
"What  kind  of  work  could  you  do!  You  can 
hardly  look  over  the  counter. ' ' 

"Oh,  yes;  I  can,"  said  the  little  fellow,  as  he 
stood  on  tiptoe  and  peeped  over  the  counter. 

Out  of  sheer  curiosity  the  merchant  came  from 
behind  the  counter,  so  as  to  get  a  good  look  at  the 
boy. 

"Oh,"  he  said,  "I  see  you've  got  copper  taps 
on  your  shoes;  I  suppose  your  mother  couldn't 
keep  you  in  shoes  if  they  didn't  have  taps  on 
them!" 


130  A    PLUCKY    BOY. 

"She  can't  keep  me  in  shoes  anyway,  sir,"  and 
the  little  boy's  voice  hesitated. 

"How  old  are  you?"  asked  the  merchant. 

"I'm  older  than  I  look;  folks  say  that  I'm  small 
for  my  age." 

"Well,  what  is  your  age!" 

"I'm  going  on  ten,"  said  Davie,  with  a  look 
of  great  importance.  "You  see,"  he  continued, 
"my  mother  hasn't  anybody  but  me,  and  this 
morning  I  saw  her  crying  because  she  could  not 
find  five  cents  in  her  pocketbook,  and  she  thinks 
she  must  have  lost  it— and  it  was— the— last  cent 
—that  she  had— in  the  world;  and— I— have— not 
—had— any— breakfast,  sir."  The  voice  again 
hesitated,  and  tears  came  into  the  little  boy's  eyes. 

"Oh,  don't  cry,  my  little  man;  I  guess  I  can 
help  you  to  a  breakfast.  Here,  take  this  quarter!" 
He  pulled  a  quarter  from  his  vest  pocket  and 
handed  it  to  the  boy.  The  boy  shook  his  head. 

"Mother  wouldn't  let  me  beg,"  was  his  simple 
answer. 

' i  Humph ! ' '  said  the  merchant.  ' '  Where  is  your 
father!" 

"We  never  heard  of  him,  sir,  after  he  went 
away.  He  was  lost  in  the  steamer  City  of  New 
York." 

' '  That 's  too  bad.  But  you  're  a  plucky  little  fel- 
low, anyhow.  Let  me  see, ' '  and  he  looked  straight 
down  into  the  boy's  eyes,  and  the  boy  looked 
straight  up  at  him.  Turning  to  the  head  man, 
after  awhile,  the  merchant  said : 


A  PLUCKY  BOY.  131 

11  Palmer,  is  cash  boy  No.  5  still  sick?" 
"Dead,  sir;  died  last  night,"  was  the  reply. 
"I'm  sorry;  but  here's  a  boy  you  might  use. 
Put  him  down  in  No.  5's  place.    We'll  try  him  for 


THE  BOY  MARCHED  STRAIGHT  UP  TO  THE  COUNTER! 

awhile,  anyhow.  What's  is  your  name,  my  little 
man?"  he  asked,  turning  again  to  the  boy. 

"Davie  Thomas." 

"Well,  Davie,  we'll  give  you  three  dollars  a 
week  to  start  with;  you  come  tomorrow  morning 
and  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do.  Here's  a  dollar  of 
your  wages  in  advance.  I'll  take  it  out  of  your 
first  week's  pay.  Do  you  understand?" 


132  A    PLUCKY   BOY. 

"Yes,  sir;  I  understand,  and  T  thank  you.  too. 
I  '11  be  back  in  the  morning. ' ' 

Davie  shot  out  of  the  store,  and  lost  no  time  in 
getting  home.  The  old  creaky  steps  in  the  old 
ram-shackle  house  fairly  sang  with  delight  as  the 
weight  of  the  little  boy  hurried  up  them. 

"I've  got  it,  mother;-"  exclaimed  Davie.  "I'm 
a  cash  boy!  The  man's  going  to  give  me  three 
dollars  a  week,  and  he  says  I've  got  pluck,  too; 
and  here 's  a  dollar  to  get  some  breakfast  with,  and 
don't  you  cry  any  more,  for  I'm  going  to  be  the 
man  of  this  house  now. ' ' 

At  first  the  mother  was  dumfounded;  then  she 
looked  confused;  and  then  she  looked — well,  it 
passes  my  power  to  tell  how  she  did  look  as  she 
took  Davie  in  her  arrns  and  hugged  him  and 
kissed  him,  the  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks. 
But  they  were  tears  of  joy  and  thankfulness! 


A  HEAET-TO-HEAET  TALK. 

"Henry,  I  asked  you  to  remain  after  school  a 
few  minutes  because  I  wanted  you  to  help  me  re- 
arrange the  desks  and  furniture,  but  I  had  an- 
other reason  for  asking  you  to  remain,  and  I  think 
it  is  more  important  than  the  one  I  have  just 
stated." 

The  desks  had  all  been  arranged  according  to 


A    HEART-TO-HEART    TALK.  133 

the  teacher's  notion,  and  Henry  Holt  had  gathered 
up  his  books  to  go  home.  It  was  then  that  his 
teacher,  Miss  Ada  Johnson,  addressed  him. 

"Won/t  you  sit  down  here  a  minute,  David?" 
she  continued.  "I  wish  to  speak  to  you  a  min- 
ute or  two." 

David  quietly  took  a  seat.    He  was  one  of  the 


A  HEART-TO-HEART  TALK. 

largest  boys  in  school,  and  had  been  giving  an 
unusual  amount  of  trouble  during  the  day.  In 
fact  he  had  been  a  source  of  annoyance  ever  since 
the  new  teacher  had  taken  charge. 

' '  David, ' '  the  teacher  went  on,  "  I  wonder  if  you 
realize  how  hard  you  have  made  it  for  me  in 
school  today?  Is  there  any  reason  why  we  cannot 


134  A    HEART-TO-HEART    TALK. 

be  friends  and  work  together!  And  I  wish  to  be 
a  friend  to  you,  if  you  will  let  me.  You  could 
help  me  so  much  and  you  could  help  your  school- 
mates so  much  if  you  only  would.  I  want  to  ask 
you  if  you  think  your  conduct  has  been  manly  to- 
day ?  Has  it  been  kind  f ' ' 

David  said  nothing,  but  hung  his  head. 

"I  heard  before  I  came  here  that  you  were  an 
unruly  boy.  People  say  that  you  will  neither 
study  nor  work,  and  some  people  say  that  you 
are  a  very  mean  boy.  Some  of  these  things  may  be 
true,  David,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  but  I  want  to  tell 
you  that  you  are  the  only  hope  of  a  widowed 
mother,  and  I  want  to  say,  also,  that  I  think  that 
you  are  breaking  her  heart."  The  teacher's  voice 
faltered  at  the  last  words. 

"I  know  that  your  father,"  the  low  voice  went 
on, ' '  was  a  brave  and  noble  man ;  and  when  I  hear 
people  say,  'It  is  a  good  thing  that  Henry  Oliver 
died  before  he  knew  what  his  son  was  coming  to, ' 
I  think  what  a  pity  it  is  that  they  cannot  say, 
'How  sad  it  is  that  Henry  Oliver  died  before  he 
could  know  what  a  fine,  manly  fellow  his  son 
would  be,  and  what  a  stay  and  comfort  to  his 
mother7." 

The  boy's  head  dropped  to  the  desk  in  front  of 
him,  and  he  began  to  sob.  The  teacher  went  over 
to  him  and  said  gently: 

"You  can  be  all  this.  It  is  in  your  power  to 
be  all  that  your  father  would  have  you,  all  that 
your  mother  would  have  you.  "Will  you  not  turn 


A    HEART-TO-HEART    TALK.  135 

over  a  new  leaf  now,  not  only  in  yonr  behavior  and 
work  in  school,  but  in  your  whole  life  as  well!" 

David  raised  his  head. 

"I  am  with  you— I'll  do  it,  teacher,"  he  replied, 
a  new  resolve  shining  in  his  face.  All  that  day 
he  did  some  of  the  most  serious  thinking  of  his 
life.  And  he  kept  his  promise. 

The  years  have  been  many  since  then.  The  lit- 
tle teacher  has  long  since  passed  to  her  rest,  but 
David  Oliver  is  a  living  monument  to  the  power 
of  a  few  searching  words,  the  potency  of  a  little 
personal  interest  and  kindliness  manifested  at  a 
critical  time. 


A  GHOST  STORY. 

Uncle  Mose,  an  old-time  colored  man,  once  said 
in  a  company  of  people  who  were  talking  about 
ghosts  that  he  wasn  't  afraid  of  any  ghost  that  ever 
walked  the  earth. 

"No,  sah;  not  me,"  he  said;  "I'se  got  my  fuss 
time  to  be  skeered  uv  anyt  'ing  dat  's  dead. ' ' 

Whereupon  Noah  Johnson  told  Uncle  Mose  that 
he  would  bet  him  a  load  of  watermelons  that  he 
couldn't  spend  one  night  in  the  "Widder  Smith's 
house. ' '  Now,  the  Widow  Smith 's  house  was  said 
to  be  haunted,  or,  in  other  words,  it  was  filled  with 
ghosts. 


136  A    GHOST    STORY. 

"Des  name  de  night/7  said  Uncle  Mose.  "Fll 
stay  dar;  no  ha'nts  won't  bodder  wid  nie.  No,  sah; 
no  ha'nts  won't  bodder  wid  me,  an'  yo'  watermil- 
lions  is  des  ez  good  ez  gone  already ! ' ' 

The  details  were  arranged ;  judges  were  appoint- 
ed; and  Uncle  Mose  was  to  stay  in  the"  haunted 


"Hun!  Hun!  THERE  DON'T  SEEM  TO  BE  BUT  Two  OP  Us 
HEBE  TO-NIGHT." 

house  that  very  night.  He  got  him  some  pine- 
knots  to  keep  a  good  blaze  in  the  old-fashioned 
fireplace,  carried  along  an  extra  plug  of  tobacco, 
secured  a  large  drygoods  box  to  be  used  for  a 
chair,  and  then  he  set  out  for  the  house. 

He  made  a  blaze  and  seated  himself  on  the  pine 
box.    For  a  time  he  sung  a  number  of  old  planta- 


A    GHOST    STORY.  137 

B 
tion  songs  for  his  own  amusement,  as  well  as  to 

keep  him  company.  About  midnight,  feeling  some- 
what drowsy,  Uncle  Mose  got  up,  took  a  light 
and  went  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  He  examined 
every  room  in  the  house.  His  search  revealed 
nothing  unusual.  He  wound  up  his  search  chuck- 
ling to  himself: 

"I  sho  is  makin'  dis  load  uv  watermillions  easy. 
Noah  Johnsing  didn't  know  who  he's  foolin'  wid. 
I'm  a  man  myse'f;  I  ain't  af eared  uv  nothin'— I 
ain't!" 

Down  he  sat  on  the  box,  and  pretty  soon  he  was 
dozing.  It  was  not  very  long  before  he  suddenly 
awoke.  He  was  at  once  seized  with  strange  and 
sudden  fear.  He  was  too  frightened  to  move.  Al- 
though he  did  not  look  around,  he  was  conscious 
that  there  was  another  presence  in  the  room.  His 
hair  stood  on  ends.  He  felt  a  cold  chill  run  up  and 
down  his  back.  By  that  time  he  knew  that  the 
object  in  the  room,  whatever  it  was,  was  moving 
towards  him.  Still  he  did  not  move,  because  he 
could  not.  The  ghost  (for  that  was  what  all  the 
people  said  it  was)  stood  over  Uncle  Mose  for  a 
little  while,  and  then  quietly  sat  down  on  the  box 
beside  him.  Uncle  Mose  looked  straight  into  the 
fireplace,  but  his  heart  was  beating  like  a  runaway 
horse.  The  silence  in  the  room  at  that  moment 
was  like  unto  the  silence  of  death.  Everything 
was  still  and  solemn.  Uncle  Mose  could  almost 
hear  his  own  heart  beating.  The  ghost  finally 
broke  the  silence  by  saying,  with  a  loud  sigh: 


138  A    GHOST    STORY. 

"Huh!  Huh!  There  don't  seem  to  be  but  two 
of  us  here  tonight !" 

It  was  then  that  Uncle  Mose  looked  around  for 
the  first  time.  As  he  did  so  he  exclaimed: 

"Yas;  an'  f  'urn  dis  out  dah  won't  be  but  one!" 
And  with  that  he  jumped  through  the  window, 
taking  a  part  of  the  sash  with  him. 

The  judges  had  been  waiting  in  the  open  air 
near  the  house,  so  as  to  watch  the  proceedings. 
They  called  to  the  fleeing  Uncle  Mose,  as  he  passed 
them,  and  ordered  him  to  stop.  They  said  that 
they  were  all  there  and  would  protect  him.  But 
Uncle  Mose,  as  he  kept  on  running,  hallooed  back: 

4 'I'll  see  y 'all  later!" 

He  ran  at  the  top  of  his  speed  for  more  than  a 
mile,  for  he  was  well  nigh  scared  to  death.  By- 
and-by,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  he  was  compelled 
to  stop  for  a  little  rest.  He  was  wet  with  perspira- 
tion from  head  to  foot,  and  his  clothes  were  as 
limp  as  a  wet  dishrag.  But  the  poor  old  man  had 
no  sooner  seated  himself  on  a  stone  by  the  road- 
side than  up  jumps  the  ghost  and  sits  down  beside 
him  once  more. 

"Huh!"  said  the  ghost.  "You  seem  to  have 
made  pretty  good  time  tonight." 

* '  Yas, ' '  said  Uncle  Mose ; ' l  but  what  I  hase  done 
ain't  nothin'  to  what  I'se  gwinter  do!"  And  up 
he  jumped  and  lit  out  once  more. 

He  had  not  gone  far  on  his  second  trip  before  an 
old  rabbit  ran  out  of  the  bushes  and  took  out  down 


A    GHOST    STORY.  139 

the  road  ahead  of  him.  Uncle  Mose  hallooed  at 
the  rabbit  and  said: 

"Git  out  uv  de  way,  rabbit,  an'  let  somebody 
run  what  kin  run ! ' ' 

On  and  on  the  poor  old  man,  almost  scared  to 
death,  ran  and  ran.  Perhaps  he  would  have  been 
running  until  now  but  for  a  very  unfortunate  ac- 
cident. About  five  miles  from  the  Widow  Smith 's 
house  he  came  in  contact  with  the  limb  of  a  weep- 
ing willow  tree  that  hung  across  the  road.  The 
poor  old  fellow,  already  tired  out,  was  knocked 
speechless  and  senseless.  Toward  the  break  of  day 
the  judges,  who  had  followed  him,  found  him  ly- 
ing on  the  ground  doubled  up  near  the  tree.  Dim 
consciousness  was  slowly  returning  when  they 
picked  him  up.  They  rubbed  him,  and  walked  him 
around  for  a  little  while,  and  soon  he  was  able  to 
move  himself. 

The  first  thing  Uncle  Mose  said  was : 

"Tell  Noah  not  to  min'  ''bout  dem  watermil- 
lions.  I  stayed  in  dat  house  des  ez  long  ez  I  could 
keep  my  conscience  quiet.  My  ole  mammy  allus 
tole  me  dat  hit  wuz  a  sin  an'  a  shame  to  bet,  an' 
now  I  b'lieves  hit!" 

And  to  this  day,  boys  and  girls,  if  you  want  to 
see  a  really  mad  man,  you  just  ask  Uncle  Mose  if 
he  ever  saw  a  ghost. 


GOOD  CHEER. 

Everybody  loves  the  cheerful  boy  or  girl,  the 
cheerful  man  or  woman;  and  everybody  ought  to 
love  such  people.  I  wish  all  the  boys  and  girls  in 
America  would  organize  one  grand  SUNSHINE 
SOCIETY,  whose  chief  object  should  be  the  pro- 
motion of  good  feeling,  good  cheer,  peace  and  hap- 
piness among  all  the  people  everywhere.  But,  first, 
a  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman,  must  have  sunshine 
in  their  own  souls  before  they  can  communicate 
sunshine  to  others.  And,  boys  and  girls,  it  would 
greatly  assist  us  in  securing  sunshine  in  our  souls 
if  we  looked  at  our  mercies  with  both  eyes,  as  I 
might  say,  and  at  our  troubles  and  trials  with  only 
one  eye.  What  we  enjoy  in  this  world  is  always 
a  good  deal  more  than  that  which  we  do  not  enjoy; 
but  we  do  not  magnify  our  blessings  sufficiently. 
We  do  not  make  as  much  of  them  as  we  ought. 
We  do  not  rejoice  because  of  them  as  we  ought. 
We  ought  to  keep  daily  a  record  of  God's  good- 
ness and  kindness  and  patience  and  love.  The 
Lord's  mercies  are  new  every  morning  and  fresh 
every  evening;  but  we  do  not  realize  that  they  are 
so,  because  we  do  not  stop  to  count  them  up ;  we  do 
not  think  about  them.  If  we  stopped  to  weigh  the 
matter  I  think  we  should  find  more  in  our  lives 
to  be  happy  about  than  to  be  sorry  about.  Our 

141 


142  GOOD   CHEER. 

good  fortunes  always  outweigh  our  misfortunes; 
and  we  should  find  it  so  if  we  only  acquired  the 
habit  of  remembering  God's  goodness  to  us  as  well 
as  the  disappointments  and  sorrows  and  afflic- 
tions which  are  for  us  all. 

Then  we  should  study  contentment.  We  should 
study  to  be  content.  We  must  cultivate  the  habit 
of  being  satisfied  with  what  we  have  at  present, 
and  we  should  not  worry  about  those  things  which 
we  do  not  possess.  Worry  because  of  things  they 
did  not  possess  has  made  countless  thousands 
mourn.  Let  us  enjoy  what  we  have.  Let  us  make 
the  most  of  what  we  have.  And  let  us  not  worry 
about  things  which  we  do  not  possess.  No  mat- 
ter how  miserable  our  own  lot  may  be,  there  is 
always  some  one  whose  lot  is  more  miserable  still. 
Worry  kills  more  people  than  work.  In  fact  worry 
unfits  a  man  for  work.  The  man  who  has  learned 
the  philosophy  of  being  content  in  whatsoever 
state  he  is  is  the  man  who  is  and  will  be  happy. 
One  of  the  things  in  this  world  that  pays  a  hun- 
dred-fold is  contentment,  and  there  is  nothing  that 
casts  so  much  blight  and  mildew  upon  life's  fair- 
est flowers  as  discontent. 

Again,  it  would  help  us  to  keep  cheerful  if  we 
kept  steadily  engaged  in  some  work  of  usefulness. 
Let  us  go  about  doing  good.  Let  us  go  about 
seeking  opportunities  of  doing  good.  Doing  good 
makes  the  heart  healthy,  and  heart-health  makes 
sunshine,  happiness  and  good  cheer. 

A  little  thought  will  convince  you,  boys  and 


GOOD   CHEER.  143 

girls,  that  your  own  happiness  in  this  world  de- 
pends very  largely  on  the  way  other  people  bear 
themselves  toward  you.  The  looks  and  tones  at 
your  breakfast  table,  the  conduct  of  your  play- 
mates, the  faithful  or  unreliable  people  that  you 
deal  with,  what  people  say  to  you  on  the  street, 
the  letters  you  get,  the  friends  or  foes  you  meet— 
these  things  make  up  very  much  of  the  pleasurs 
or  misery  of  your  day.  Turn  the  thought  around, 
and  remember  that  just  so  much  are  you  adding  to 
the  pleasure  or  misery  of  other  people 's  days.  And 
this  is  the  half  of  the  matter  that  you  can  con- 
trol. Whether  any  particular  day  shall  bring  to 
you  more  of  happiness  or  of  suffering  is  largely 
beyond  your  power  to  determine.  Whether  each 
day  of  your  life  shall  give  happiness  or  suffering 
to  others  rests  with  yourself.  And  there  is  where 
the  test  of  character  comes.  We  must  be  continu- 
ally sacrificing  our  wills  to  the  wills  of  others, 
bearing  without  notice  sights  and  sounds  that  an- 
noy us,  setting  about  this  or  that  task  when  we 
would  rather  be  doing  something  else,  persever- 
ing in  it  often  when  we  are  very  tired  of  it,  keep- 
ing company  for  duty's  sake  when  it  would  be 
a  great  joy  to  us  to  be  by  ourselves;  and  then 
there  are  all  the  trifling  and  outward  accidents 
of  life,  bodily  pain  and  weakness,  it  may  be,  long 
continued,  losing  what  we  value,  missing  what  we 
desire,  deceit,  ingratitude  and  treachery  where  we 
least  expected  them;  folly,  rashness  and  willful- 
ness in  ourselves.  All  these  little  worries  which 


144  GOOD    CHEER. 

we  meet  each  day  may  lie  as  stumbling  blocks 
across  our  way,  or  we  may  make  of  them,  if  we 
choose,  stepping  stones  of  grace. 

I  want  all  the  little  boys  and  girls  who  read 
this  book  to  be  joy-makers,  to  be  burden-bearers, 
to  be  among  those  who  shall  assist  in  filling  the 
whole  world  with  good  cheer.  It  is  our  duty  to 
cheer  and  comfort  others;  it  is  our  duty  to  make 
the  world  not  only  better  but  happier — happier  be- 
cause better— for  our  having  lived  in  it.  To  all 
the  other  beatitudes  might  well  be  added  this  one : 
Blessed  are  the  cheerful  people,  for  they  shall  in- 
inherit  the  earth. 


LIFE  A  BATTLE. 

Boys  and  girls,  I  want  to  repeat  to  you  now 
some  words  which  were  delivered  long  ago  by  the 
Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax,  a  man  who  was  once  the 
vice-president  of  the  United  States.  These  words 
are  wholesome,  and  should  be  read  and  considered 
by  parents  and  school  teachers  and  by  children 
themselves  all  over  our  land: 

11  Above  all  things,  teach  children  what  their 
life  is.  It  is  not  breathing,  moving,  playing,  sleep- 
ing, simply.  Life  is  a  battle.  All  thoughtful  peo- 
ple see  it  so.  A  battle  between  good  and  evil  from 
childhood.  Good  influences,  drawing  us  up  toward 


LIFE    A   BATTLE.  145 

the  divine ;  bad  influences,  drawing  us  down  to  the 
brute.  Midway  we  stand,  between  the  divine  and 
the  brute.  How  to  cultivate  the  good  side  of  the 
nature  is  the  greatest  lesson  of  life  to  teach.  Teach 
children  that  they  lead  these  two  lives:  the  life 
without  and  the  life  within;  and  that  the  inside 
must  be  pure  in  the  sight  of  God  as  well  as  the 
outside  in  the  sight  of  men. 

" There  are  five  means  of  learning.  These  are: 
Observation,  reading,  conversation,  memory,  re- 
flection. 

"Educators  sometimes,  in  their  anxiety  to  se- 
cure a  wide  range  of  studies,  do  not  sufficiently 
impress  upon  their  scholars  the  value  of  memory. 
Now,  our  memory  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
gifts  God  has  bestowed  upon  us,  and  one  of  the 
most  mysterious.  Take  a  tumbler  and  pour  water 
into  it;  by-and-by  you  can  pour  no  more:  it  is 
full.  It  is  not  so  with  the  mind.  You  cannot  fill 
it  full  of  knowledge  in  a  whole  lifetime.  Pour  in 
all  you  please,  and  it  still  thirsts  for  more. 

"Kemember  this: 

"Knowledge  is  not  what  you  learn,  but  what 
you  remember. 

"It  is  not  what  you  eat,  but  what  you  digest, 
that  makes  you  grow. 

"It  is  not  the  money  you  handle,  but  that  you 
keep,  that  makes  you  rich. 

"  It  is  not  what  you  study,  but  what  you  re- 
member and  reflect  upon,  that  makes  you  learned. 

"One  more  suggestion: 


146  LIFE    A   BATTLE. 

1  Above  all  things  else,  strive  to  fit  the  children 
in  your  charge  to  be  useful  men  and  women;  men 
and  women  you  may  be  proud  of  in  after-life. 
While  they  are  young  teach  them  that  far  above 
physical  courage,  which  will  lead  them  to  face 
the  cannon's  mouth;  above  wealth,  which  would 
give  them  farms  and  houses  and  bank  stocks  and 
gold;  is  moral  courage— that  courage  by  which 
they  will  stand  fearlessly,  frankly,  firmly  for  the 
right.  Every  man  or  woman  who  dares  to  stand 
for  the  right  when  evil  has  its  legions,  is  the  true 
moral  victor  in  this  life  and  in  the  land  beyond 
the  stars. " 

These  brave  and  true  words  were  spoken  by  Mr. 
Coif  ax  long  years  ago.  They  were  true  then; 
they  are  no  less  true  now.  Every  boy  in  America 
should  treasure  them  in  his  heart.  Every  girl  in 
America  should  commit  them  to  memory  and  make 
them  the  rule  of  her  life.  Mothers  and  fathers, 
school  teachers  and  preachers,  and  all  who  have 
the  care  of  the  young  in  any  way  would  do  well 
to  study  these  wise  counsels  and  reflect  upon  them 
and  strive  to  impress  upon  those  for  whom  tliey 
are  laboring. 

If  you  would  win  the  victory  in  the  battle  of  life, 
my  young  friends,  you  must  watch  the  little 
things.  It  is  said  that  there  is  a  barn  upon  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  so  built  that  the  rain  which 
falls  upon  it  separates  in  such  a  manner  that  that 
which  falls  upon  one  side  of  the  roof  runs  into 
a  little  stream  that  flows  into  the  Susquehanna 


LIFE  A  BATTLE.  147 

and  thence  into  Chesapeake  Bay  and  on  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean;  that  which  falls  upon  the  other 
side  is  carried  into  the  Alleghany  Eiver,  thence 
into  the  Ohio,  and  onward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  point  where  the  waters  divide  is  very  small, 
but  how  different  the  course  of  these  waters !  So 
it  is  with  people,  young  or  old.  A  very  little 
thing  changes  the  channel  of  their  lives.  Much 
will  depend  upon  the  kinds  of  tempers  you  have, 
boys  and  girls.  If  you  are  sour  and  cross,  and 
crabbed,  no  one  will  love  you.  If  you  are  kind 
and  cheerful,  you  will  have  friends  wherever  you 
go.  Much  will  depend  upon  the  way  in  which  you 
improve  your  school  days;  upon  the  kind  of  com- 
panions you  have;  and  upon  the  kind  of  habits 
you  form.  If  you  would  win  a  great  victory  in 
fighting  the  battle  of  life  you  must  look  well  to 
the  little  things. 


AN  IDLE  BOY. 

An  idle  boy  one  idle  day 
Played  with  a  gun  in  an  idle  way  :- 
And  now  the  grasses  idly  wave 
Above  his  idle  little  grave. 


HUNTING  AN  EASY  PLACE. 

A  nicely  dressed  young  man,  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  old,  who  had  just  finished  his  course  in  the 
high  school,  stepped  into  the  office  of  the  president 
of  the  Smutville  Short  Line  Eailroad. 

"Well,"  said  the  president,  looking  up  from  a 
mass  of  correspondence,  "what  can  I  do  for  you, 
sir?" 

"I  have  just  finished  my  course  in  the  high 
school,"  the  young  man  began  nervously,  "and  I 
thought  that  I  might  be  able  to  secure  a  desirable 
position  with  your  company.  I  came  in  to  talk 
with  you  about  it." 

The  president  asked  the  young  man  to  have  a 
seat. 

"So,"  said  the  president,  "you  want  a  desirable 
place,  eh?" 

"I  do,  sir,"  said  the  young  man,  his  heart  beat- 
ing high  with  hope. 

"A  place,"  continued  the  president,  "that 
would  pay  you  something  like  a  hundred  dollars 
a  month?" 

149 


150  HUNTING   AN    EASY   PLACE, 

' i Something  like  that/7  said  the  young  man 
eagerly. 

"I  guess  you  would  like  it  very  well,  too,  if  I 
could  arrange  it  so  that  you  could  report  f or_work 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  mornings  and  get  off  every 
afternoon  at  three  or  four  o  'clock.  In  other  words, 
you  want  something  easy.  I  can  see  by  looking  at 
you  that  you  are  not  accustomed  to  hard  work, 
and  you  could  not  fill  a  place  that  required  you  to 
report  at  six  o'clock  every  morning  and  work  un- 
til six  every  afternoon.  Do  I  size  you  up  correct- 
ly?" 

"I  think  so,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"In  plain  English  then,  you  are  looking  for  a 
soft  place  with  the  Short  Line!" 

"I  am,  sir." 

' '  Well,  sir, ' '  said  the  president,  smiling  for  the 
first  time,  "I  regret  to  inform  you  that  there  is 
only  one  such  place  on  our  railroad.  I  occupy  that 
place  myself,  and  I  am  not  thinking  of  resigning. ' ' 

The  young  man's  face  flushed. 

The  president  continued:  "I  hope  you  will  not 
think  that  it  is  going  beyond  what  is  right  and 
proper  for  me  to  say,  but  I  must  tell  you,  young 
man,  that  you  have  started  out  in  life  with  the 
wrong  notion.  No  brave  and  strong  young  man  is 
going  about  looking  for  an  easy  place.  The  brave 
and  true  man  asks  only  for  work.  And  the  men 
who  are  occupying  what  you  call  the  easy  places 
in  this  life  today  are  the  men  who  have  climbed 
into  them  by  hard  work.  You  are  very  much  mis- 


HUNTING   AN    EASY   PLACE.  151 

taken  if  you  think  that  they  have  stepped  into 
them  from  the  high  school.  In  fact,  and  you'll 
find  it  out  soon  enough  for  yourself,  there  are 
really  no  soft  or  easy  places  in  this  world,  and  the 


"I  HAVE  JUST  FINISHED  MY  COURSE  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL." 

man  who  goes  about  seeking  such  places  stamps 
himself  at  once  as  a  failure.  Nobody  will  ever  em- 
ploy such  a  boy,  and  such  a  boy  would  be  no  good 
if  he  were  employed.  Let  me,  as  a  friend,  advise 
you,  young  man,  that  the  next  place  you  go  to  to 


152  HUNTING   AN    EASY   PLACE. 

apply  for  a  job,  you  ask  for  a  chance  to  begin  at 
the  bottom.  If  it  happens  to  be  a  railroad,  ask 
to  be  given  a  chance  to  do  anything— firing  an  en- 
gine, or  cleaning  cars,  or  laboring  in  the  round- 
house. Be  willing  to  begin  low  down  in  the  busi- 
ness, and,  if  you're  made  out  of  the  right  stuff, 
you  will  fight  your  way  to  the  front.  I  started  in 
with  the  Short  Line  as  a  day  laborer  myself,  and 
if  I  had  not  done  so  I  would  not  be  at  its  head 
today.  You  advertise  your  own  folly  when  you 
go  and  ask  a  sensible  business  man  to  put  you  at 
the  start  at  the  head  of  something.  You  must  be- 
gin at  the  bottom  and  work  up  to  the  top.  That  is 
the  rule  everywhere,  and  you  will  not,  I  am  sure, 
prove  an  exception  to  it." 

Let  us  hope,  boys  and  girls,  that  this  young  man 
left  the  president's  office  a  wiser  young  man.  Be 
sure  not  to  follow  his  example.  Don't  go  around 
hunting  for  easy  places. 


AT  THE  ZOO. 

Father  and  son,  making  the  rounds  of  the 
Zoological  gardens,  paused  before  a  cage  contain- 
ing a  beautiful  zebra. 

"Oh,  papa,"  exclaimed  the  little  boy,  "see  that 
donkey  with  a  baseball  sweater  on!" 


THE  BIG  BLACK  BUEGLAE. 

One  cold  winter  night,  about  midnight,  my  good 
wife  called  to  me,  saying : 

"Dan!  Dan!  Get  up!  Get  up!" 

"What's  the  matter?"  I  asked,  with  much 
alarm. 

"Somebody's  in  the  dining-room;  I  heard  them 
rattling  the  dishes  just  a  minute  ago." 

"I  don't  hear  anything,  wife,"  I  said  slowly. 

"There's  somebody  in  these  sure;  I  heard  them 
myself.  Do  get  up,  Dan,  before  they  take  every- 
thing we've  got." 

"I  haven't  got  a  gun  or  any  kind  of  weapon," 
I  said,  still  fighting  for  time. 

"Well,  get  up  and  make  a  noise — walk  around 
heavy — that's  frighten  'em  and  make  'em  leave." 

153 


154  -  THE   BIG   BLACK   BURGLAR. 

I  got  up  quietly,  turned  up  the  lamp,  and  looked 
about  me  with  a  sigh. 

'  *  Be  quick, ' '  said  my  wife. 

"In  a  minute, "  said  I. 

I  tipped  around  to  the  wall  on  the  side  of  the 
bed,  and  took  down  an  old  iron  sword,  which  had 
done  duty  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  which  we  had 
preserved  as  an  heirloom. 

" Hurry,  hurry,  Dan!"  said  my  wife. 

"All  right, "  I  said  with  meekness. 

I  took  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the  lamp  in 
the  other,  and  moved  gently  toward  the  door, 
which  opened  from  our  bed-room  into  the  dining- 
room. 

Pausing  at  the  door,  I  said,— 

< < Hallo!  Hallo,  in  there!" 

The  response  came  from  my  wife  in  bed. 

"Open  fhe  door,  Dan;  open  the  door!" 

Humbly  I  placed  the  lamp  on  the  floor  close  by 
the  door,  caught  a  tight  grip  on  my  old  war-piece, 
and  then  quickly  shoved  the  door  wide  open.  I 
intended,  of  course,  after  getting  my  bearings,  to 
pick  up  the  lamp  and  enter  the  dining-room  on  a 
tour  of  inspection.  But,  I  assure  you,  there  was 
no  time  for  any  such  careful  procedure.  As  soon 
as  the  door  was  opened  and  the  light  went  stream- 
ing into  the  dining-room,  something  fell  to  the 
floor  with  a  terrible  thud,  and  quicker  than  it 
takes  to  tell  it  a  great  big  black  something,  that 
looked  to  me  like  a  buffalo  or  elephant,  came 
bounding  toward  me.  It  was  all  so  sudden  that  it 


THE  BIG  BLACK  BURGLAR. 


155 


surprised  me,  and  I  fell  back  trembling.  Over 
went  the  lamp.  It  broke.  Out  came  the  oil.  It 
took  fire,  and  pretty  soon  the  Cambrequin  close  by 
took  fire.  Down  I  snatched  it.  I  reached  for  the 
first  thing  handy,  and  tried  to  smother  the  fire  on 
the  floor.  In  doing  so,  I  stepped  on  a  piece  of 

glass  and  cut  my 
foot.  I  burnt  my 
hands  terribly.  My 
night  shirt  caught 
on  fire.  I  ran  to 
the  bed  and  sat 
down  in  order  to 
quench  the  blaze. 
This  shows  I  still 
had  some  presence 
of  mind  left,  al- 
though, as  a  matter 
of  fact,  this  new  ex- 
tinguishing process 
scorched  my  legs 
awfully. 

When  all  was 
quiet  again,  and  I 
lit  another  lamp  in 
order  to  take  an  in- 
ventory, my  bedroom  was  a  sight  to  behold!  I 
found  that  in  the  struggle,  my  old  army  sword 
had  been  plunged  amidship  into  the  hand- 
some mirror  of  our  dresser,  and  had  also 
made  havoc  of  a  reproduction  of  Millets'  Angelus. 


HUNTING  THE  BURGLAR. 


156          THE  BIG  BLACK  BUEGLAE. 

I  discovered,  also,  that  I  had  used  iny  brand-new 
$50  overcoat  to  extinguish  the  fire,  and  that 
many  of  the  handsome  photos  of  our  friends 
that  stood  on  the  mantle  had  been  ruined.  Alto- 
gether that  one  night's  experience  cost  me  in  the 
neighborhood  of  $100,  not  to  mention  my  own  per- 
sonal injuries.  It  was  a  terrible  night,  I  tell  you. 
And  far  off  in  one  corner,  I  saw,  crouching  in 
abject  fear,  the  cause  of  all  my  troubles — the 
burly  black  burglar.  And  what  do  you  think  it 
was  ?  It  was  nothing  in  the  world  but  an  old  black 
Tom  Cat,  who  had  been  a  member  of  our  family 
for  many  years ! 


PIN-MONEY  MADE  WITH  THE  NEEDLE. 

Surely  all  young  girls  ought  to  know  how  to 
sew,  and,  not  only  sew,  but  all  girls,  I  think,  ought 
to  love  the  purely  feminine  occupation  of  sewing. 
Since  I  am  sure  that  many  of  the  little  girls  who 
will  read  this  book  know  how  to  sew,  I  am  going 
to  tell  you  about  some  little  sewing  that  my  wife 
did. 

In  1913  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  of  Phila- 
delphia, offered  a  prize  of  fifty  dollars  for  the  best 
way  to  make  pin-money  at  home.  You  know, 


PIN-MONEY    MADE    WITH    NEEDLE.       157 

girls,  that  put-money  means  pocket  change  or 
spending  money.  Many  hundreds  of  women  all 
over  the  world  sent  in  suggestions  to  the  Ladies' 
Home  Journal,  each  one  hoping,  I  am  sure,  that 
her  suggestion  would  win  first  prize.  The  follow- 
ing letter  sent  to  my  wife  will  tell  you  just  how 
her  suggestion  was  received: 

"THE  LADIES'  HOME  JOUENAL, 

"Philadelphia.    February  5,  1913. 
"Dear  Madam: 

"It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  tell  you  that 
among  the  hundreds  of  letters  received  in  response 
to  the  offer  made  in  our  January  magazine  in  con- 
nection with  The  Editor's  Want-Box,  Mr.  Bok  has 
chosen  your  offering  as  the  one  entitled  to  the  first 
prize  of  fifty  dollars.  He  congratulates  you  upon 
your  success  and  thanks  you  for  the  interest  you 
have  shown. 

"Our  Treasurer  will  send  you  a  check  within  a 
week.  Very  truly  yours, 

"Wm.  V.  Alexander, 
"Managing  Editor. 

"Mrs.  Ella  Floyd. " 

The  check  came  all  right,  girls,  and  my  wife 
thought,  as  she  said  to  me,  that  in  winning  the 
prize  she  had  found  a  new  way  to  make  pin-money 
—that  is,  by  telling  others  how  to  make  pin-money 
at  home. 

Two  hundred  of  the  little  articles  were  after- 
wards published  from  time  to  time  in  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal.  The  first  article  of  the  series  ap- 


158        PIN-MONEY  MADE  WITH  NEEDLE. 

peared  in  the  magazine  for  January,  1914,  and  my 
wife's  little  story,  which  won  first  money,  was  at 
the  head  of  the  list.  I  am  going  to  give  here  the 
whole  of  the  little  article,  as  published  in  The 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  Of  course,  I  am  proud 
that  she  won  the  prize,  and  I  hope  other  young 
ladies  by-and-by  may  be  the  happy  winners  in 
such  contests.  And  here  is  the  article : 

"When  one's  pin-money  is  all  gone  but  twenty- 
five  cents  the  question  comes  as  to  the  way  to 
replenish  it.  One  day  when  I  found  that  I  had 
only  that  amount  I  invested  it  as  follows: 

1  yard  of  lawn .10 

1  yard  of  lace 10 

1  spool  of  cotton 05 

.25 

"The  same  day  I  made  three  baby  caps  as 
daintily  as  I  could  with  these  materials.  The  next 
day  I  sold  them  for  twenty-five  cents  each,  and 
then  I  had  seventy-five  cents.  I  then  bought 

1  yard  of  lawn 15 

2y2  yards  of  lace 25 

2  yards  of  ribbon 25 

2  tiny  buckles 05 

1  spool  of  cotton 05 

.75 

"With  these  materials  I  made  two  baby  caps, 
somewhat  larger  than  the  first  ones,  and  trimmed 


PIN  MONEY  MADE  WITH  NEEDLE. 


159 


more  prettily.  I  found  no  trouble  in  selling  them 
for  $1.50.  Straightway  I  invested  the  sum  in 
lawn,  lace,  ribbon,  etc.,  and  as  I  had  done  so  well 
with  the  caps  I  thought  I  would  try  my  hand  on 


PIN  MONEY  MADE  WITH  THE  NEEDLE. 

little  bonnets.    I  made  two.    A  friend  offered  me 
$5  for  them  before  they  were  finished.    I  accepted 


160        PIN-MONEY  MADE  WITH  NEEDLE. 

her  offer  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  have  never 
been  troubled  about  pin-money. 

"In  four  weeks'  time  I  made  and  sold  twenty 
caps  and  eleven  bonnets.  The  material  for  the 
caps  cost  me  $2.50 — twelve  -and  a  half  cents  for 
each.  I  sold  them  for  twenty-five  cents  each.  The 
material  for  the  bonnets  cost  me  $8.25,  or  seventy- 
five  cents  each.  I  sold  them  for  $2.50  each.  So  I 
netted  $21.75  for  my  work.  The  time  which  I 
devoted  to  this  enterprise  was  that  which  ordi- 
narily I  would  have  used  in  calling  or  in  running 
up  bills  for  my  husband  to  pay. 

"Since  the  first  four  weeks  of  which  I  have 
spoken  in  detail  I  have  made  more  expensive  caps 
and  bonnets  for  babies  from  six  months  to  about 
three  years  old.  The  last  one  I  made  was  of  silk, 
beautifully  trimmed,  tucked  and  hemstitched.  I 
sold  it  for  $6,  making  a  clear  profit  of  $3.  My 
husband  says  I'll  soon  be  in  position  to  organize 
a  trust. " 


SELF-HELP. 

If  there  is  one  idea  for  which  more  than  any 
other  the  public  school  system  should  stand,  it  is 
the  idea  of  self-help.  Self-help  is  the  best  kind  of 
help  in  the  world,  and  one  cannot  learn  this  lesson 
too  early  in  life.  Even  little  children — three,  four, 
five,  six  and  eight  years  old — should  be  taught  to 
work.  Any  little  child  is  just  as  capable  of  doing 
the  little  things  in  work  as  he  is  in  play.  Why 


162  SELF-HELP. 

should  not  the  little  girl  be  taught  to  trim  and 
wash  the  dress  of  her  doll!  Why  should  not  the 
little  children  be  taught  to  sweep  up  the  dirt  that 
they  have  scattered  in  play!  Why  should  they 
not  be  taught  to  remove  the  dishes  from  the  table, 
brush  up  the  crumbs,  set  back  the  chairs,  pick  up 
chips,  put  the  kindling  wood  in  its  place,  bring 
the  potatoes  in  from  the  garden,  help  to  pick  over 
the  berries,  and  so  forth!  We  might  argue  this 
question  from  now  until  doom's  day,  and  nobody, 
I  think,  would  be  able  to  give  any  good  reason  why 
children  should  not  be  taught  to  do  the  little 
things.  Little  children  who  are  accustomed  to  hav- 
ing everything  done  for  them  by  others  are  very 
soon  beset  with  the  rust  of  laziness  and  the  canker 
of  pride.  Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  if  children 
are  taught  to  help  themselves  as  soon  as  and  as 
much  as  they  are  able,  it  will  tend  to  improve  their 
faculties,  and  will,  at  the  same  time,  have  a  good 
influence  upon  their  dispositions. 

Childhood  and  youth  are  periods  of  life  which 
materially  influence  all  of  its  following  periods, 
and  whether  the  earlier  years  of  one's  life  be 
passed  in  idleness  and  indolence,  or  in  well- 
directed  industry,  is  a  point  on  which  greatly  de- 
pends the  worth  or  the  worthlessness  of  human 
character.  Where  is  the  man  who  guides  his 
affairs  with  discretion,  or  the  woman  that  looketh 
well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  yet  was  not 
in  some  measure  imbued  with  industrious  and 
provident  habits  in  early  life!  On  the  other  hand, 


SELF-HELP. 


163 


who  that  has  been  treated  until  the  age  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  like  a  helpless  infant,  and  had  every 


WASHING   DOLLIES'   CLOTHES. 


want  supplied  without  being  put  to  the  necessity 
of  either  mental  or  bodily  exertion,  was  ever  good 
for  anything  afterwards? 


164  SELF-HELP. 

The  tendency  of  the  age  is  by  far  too  much  in 
the  direction  of  keeping  our  young  boys  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  loafing  about  the  streets,  or  stand- 
ing around  the  soda  fountains  on  Sunday— and 
our  young  girls  for  parties,  social  entertainments, 
picnics,  excursions  and  the  like.  So  that  by  the 
time  our  boys  and  girls  reach  manhood  and 
womanhood,  they  despise  honest  labor  and  are 
afraid  to  engage  in  real  hard  work.  A  young 
woman  may  know  how  to  read  and  write— may 
understand  grammar,  history,  and  geography— 
may  sing  sweetly  and  play  the  piano  well;  but, 
whatever  else  she  may  know  or  may  not  know,  if 
she  does  not  know  how  to  bake  a  hoe-cake  of 
bread,  make  her  little  brother  or  sister  a  pair  of 
pants  or  a  plain  dress,  she  is  only  half  educated. 
In  fact,  every  young  woman  should  not  only  know 
how  to  perform  every  duty  connected  with  a 
household,  but  every  young  woman  should  take 
some  part  in  household  work.  No  girl  need  tell 
me  that  she  really  loves  her  mother  if  she  is  will- 
ing to  leave  to  her  mother  the  work  of  washing 
the  dishes,  sweeping  and  scouring  .the  floors,  car- 
ing for  the  little  children,  doing  the  Monday  wash- 
ings, the  house  cleaning,  and  the  like,  while  she 
devotes  herself  to  pleasure,  novel  reading,  social 
calling,  butterfly  parties,  or  playing  rag-time 
music  or  singing  rag-time  songsv 

The  home  and  the  public  school  are  the  two 
great  agencies  which  are  jointly  engaged,  or  which 
should  be  jointly  engage^  in  teaching  children  to 


At  MING  AT  SOMETHING.  iG5 

help  themselves.  If  children  are  taught,  as  boys 
and  girls,  to  think  for  themselves,  speak  for  them- 
selves and  act  for  themselves,  when  they  are  old 
they  will  not  forget  the  precious  lesson,  and  will 
be  less  likely  to  become  burdens  on  the  com- 
munity. The  highest  ambition  of  every  American 
man  and  woman  should  be  to  be  of  some  useful 
service  to  the  world;  and  the  first  step  will  be 
taken  toward  this  noble  end  when  we  have  thor- 
oughly learned  the  value  and  importance  of  the 
lesson  of  self-help.  First,  learn  to  help  yourself, 
and  then  you  will  be  able  to  see  more  clearly  how 
to  help  others. 

AIMING  AT  SOMETHING. 

It  is  true,  boys  and  girls,  that  it  is  what  you  hit, 
not  what  you  aim  at,  that  counts ;  but,  neverthe- 
less, it  is  a  very  important  thing  to  take  the  right 
aim.  The  man  who  aims  deliberately  at  the  center 
of  the  target  stands  a  better  chance,  a  hundred  to 
one,  than  the  man  who  shoots  without  taking  aim. 
So,  in  life,  that  boy  or  girl  who  has  a  purpose— 
who  is  aiming  at  something — will  be  more  success- 
ful than  those  boys  and  girls  who  have  no  plans 
and  who  aim  at  nothing. 

It  is  not  sufficient,  in  the  moral  world,  to  aim  at 
something,  but  every  boy  and  girl  should  aim  at 
the  best  things.  The  best  and  highest  things  in  this 
world  are  the  unseen  things,  the  eternal  things, 
the  things  that  will  last  forever.  Money  is  a  good 
thing,  but  there  is  something  higher  than  money. 
A  high  position  in  the  business  or  professional  or 
political  world  is  a  good  thing,  but  there  is  some- 


166 


AIMING  AT  SOMETHING. 


tiling  higher  and  better  than  office  and  position. 
Character  is  the  grandest,  the  highest  and  best 
thing  in  this  world.  We  include  in  this  one  little 
word  " character"  a  world  of  things.  Honor,  up- 


rightness, speak- 
ing the  truth,  deal- 
ing fairly  with  people,  be- 
ing willing  to  help  the 
lowly  and  unfortunate, 
paying  your  debts  prompt- 
ly, these  things,  and  many 
other  things  like  them,  are 
included  in  the  one  word 
"character."  And  these 
are  the  things  that  are 
worth  while  in  this  world. 
These  are  the  things  that 
every  boy  and  girl  should  aim  at.  It  may  not 
be  possible  for  every  boy  and  girl  to  become 
a  millionaire;  it  may  not  be  possible  for  every 
boy  and  girl  to  fill  high  offices  in  this  world,  or 


AIMING  AT  SOMETHING. 


AIMING  AT  SOMETHING.  167 

succeed  in  large  business  enterprises;  but  one 
thing  is  certain :  every  boy  can  be  a  good  and  true 
boy,  every  girl  can  be  a  noble  and  beautiful  girl. 
Beautiful  as  to  conduct,  as  to  words  and  deeds,  I 
mean.  Good  boys  are  the  fathers  of  good  men. 
Pure  girls  are  the  mothers  of  pure  women.  For, 
what,  after  all,  is  a  boy?  And  what  is  a  girl? 
What  is  a  man?  What  is  a  woman?  I  will  tell 
you.  A  boy  is  a  little  man— that's  all;  and  a  man 
is  a  grown-up  boy.  A  girl  is  a  little  woman — 
that 's  all ;  and  a  woman  is  a  grown-up  girl. 

It  is  important,  then,  that  boys  and  girls  should 
aim  at  the  right  things,  the  good,  the  true  and 
noble  things  early  in  life.  What  boys  and  girls 
aim  at,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  they  will  reach  as 
men  and  women.  And  to  help  you  in  taking  the 
proper  aim  early  in  life,  I  am  going  to  give  you 
something  to  aim  at.  Let  every  boy  and  girl  make 
this  little  motto  his  rule  of  life: 

Know  something— know  it  well; 
Do  something— do  it  well;— 
And  be  Somebody! 


"THE  BLACK  SHEEP"  OF  THE  REYNOLDS 
FAMILY. 

Will  Reynolds  was  "the  black  sheep"  of  the 
Reynolds  family.  He  knew  it  and  felt  it,  because 
he  had  been  frequently  slighted  and  treated  with 


168  "THE   BLACK  SHEEP." 

contempt  by  his  relatives.  The  only  person  who 
never  lost  faith  in  him  was  his  mother.  She 
always  felt  that  there  was  something  good  in  her 
wayward  son,  and  often  said  that  it  would  show 
itself  some  day.  But  Will's  mother  died  in  the 
early  stages  of  his  backslidings.  Will's  father 
married  the  second  time,  and  the  boy,  finding  it 
impossible  to  get  along  with  his  stepmother,  left 
home.  He  went  from  bad  to  worse.  Being 
arrested  on  the  charge  of  drunkenness  and  va- 
grancy, he  sent  to  his  two  brothers,  who  were  pros- 
perous brokers  in  D.  St.,  asking  them  to  pay  his 
fine.  Word  came  back  that  they  would  not  inter- 
fere in  his  behalf.  His  brothers  sent  word  that  he 
had  brought  the  trouble  upon  himself  and  he  must 
get  out  of  it  the  best  way  he  could.  Will  was  sent 
to  the  Work  House  for  six  months.  And  nobody's 
hand  was  raised  to  help  him. 

While  he  was  serving  his  time,  his  only  sister,  a 
young  woman  not  yet  grown,  died.  He  knew 
nothing  of  it  until  about  a  month  after  it  occurred, 
and  then  he  read  the  account  in  an  old  newspaper 
which  he  had  borrowed  from  a  fellow  prisoner. 
The  news  of  his  sister 's  death  deeply  affected  him. 
His  sentence  was  shortened  by  one  month  on  ac- 
count of  his  good  behaviour.  The  first  thing  he 
jdid,  on  coming  to  the  city,  was  to  visit  the  family 
lot  in  Myrtle  Hill  Cemetery.  He  carried  with  him 
some  wild  flowers  and  green  leaves,  being  too  poor 
to  purchase  a  floral  offering  from  the  dealers  in 
such  things.  With  uncovered  head,  he  knelt  and 


"THE  BLACK  SHEEP.' 


169 


placed  these  tokens  of  respect  on  the  graves  of  his 
mother  and  sister.  This  done,  he  stood  in  silence 
for  a  moment,  and  then  wept  like  a  little  child. 
While  riveted  to  the  spot,  he  made  a  solemn  vow 


HE  CARRIED  WITH  HIM  SOME  NICE  FLOWERS. 

that  he  would  quit  the  old  life  and  make  a  man  of 
himself.     "It's  in  me,"  he  said  to  himself, 
I'm  going  to  prove  it," 


170  "THE  BLACK  SHEEP. " 

Slowly  he  turned  away  from  the  sacred  place. 
He  went  directly  to  the  offices  of  his  brothers.  He 
had  been  furnished  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes, 
according  to  custom,  upon  leaving  prison,  and  so 
made  quite  a  decent  appearance.  He  found  his 
oldest  brother,  John  B.  Eeynolds,  seated  at  a  desk 
in  the  front  office.  He  entered  at  once  and  said,— 

"Well,  John,  I  suppose  sister  is  dead?" 

"How  dare  you,"  exclaimed  John,  rising  to  his 
feet,— "how  dare  you  to  speak  of  Annie  as  your 
sister,  you  jailbird,  you  miserable  convict!  Get 
out  of  here  this  minute !  Leave  this  room  at  once, 
and  never  set  foot  in  it  again ! ' ' 

There  was  fire  in  the  man's  eye  as  he  spoke. 
Will  attempted  to  speak,  but  was  not  permitted. 
With  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  he  left  the 
room.  He  had  gone  to  tell  of  his  new  determina- 
tion and  ask  for  another  chance,  and  this  was  the 
reception  which  he  met.  On  his  way  down  the 
steps,  he  came  face  to  face  with  his  other  brother, 
Thomas  Eeynolds.  Thomas  tried  to  pass  without 
speaking,  but  Will  intercepted  him. 

"Tom,"  he  said,  "I'm  your  brother  still.  I'm 
not  asking  help  now;  I  only  came  to  tell  you  that 
I'm  going  to  do  better.  I  thought  you  would  be 
glad  to  hear  it. ' ' 

"I  want  to  hear  nothing  from  you,"  said 
Thomas.  "You've  disgraced  us  forever,  and  you 
can  go  your  way;  we  don't  want  anything  to  do 
with  you;  we  don't  want  to  see  you  again!" 

Will  went  forth  into  the  street  weeping. 


"THE   BLACK  SHEEP."  171 

Thirty  years  have  come  and  gone  since  Will  was 
driven  away  from  the  offices  of  his  brothers.  What 
changes  have  these  years  worked! 

Soon  after  leaving  prison  W^ill  was  a  constant 
visitor  at  the  Kailroad  Men's  Branch  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Through  the  Secretary  of  the  Association, 
lie  soon  secured  a  place  as  a  day  laborer  in  the 
machine  shops  of  the  Big  Bend  Railroad.  After 
securing  regular  employment,  he  went  to  live  in 
the  Y.  M.  0.  A.  building.  At  the  close  of  his  first 
year's  service  with  the  railroad,  he  was  promoted 
from  a  common  laborer  and  made  an  apprentice. 
After  four  or  five  years,  he  had  learned  the  trade 
and  was  receiving  the  daily  wages  of  a  machinist. 
After  twelve  years  with  the  company,  he  was 
made  the  Master  Machinist.  At  the  end  of  fifteen 
years'  service,  he  was  made  Superintendent  of 
Construction.  Five  years  later  he  was  made  a 
Division  Superintendent.  At  the  expiration  of 
more  than  twenty-five  years  of  faithful  service, 
Will  Reynolds  was  able  to  write  after  his  name, 
"General  Manager  of  the  Big  Bend  Railroad." 
He  had,  also,  been  married  for  several  years,  and 
was  the  father  of  five  children. 

Will's  father  and  brothers  lost  sight  of  him  for 
nearly  twelve  years,  or  until  the  papers  announced 
his  appointment  as  Master  Machinist  of  the  Big 
Bend  Railroad.  They  suddenly  awoke  to  find  that 
their  conclusions  that  he  had  probably  long  since 
died  a  drunkard's  death,  or  had  gone  off  as  a 


172  "THE   BLACK  SHEEP." 

tramp  and  had  been  killed,  or  was  again  serving 
a  sentence  in  prison  somewhere— were  wrong. 

The  same  week  that  Will  was  made  Superin- 
tendent of  Construction  of  the  Big  Bend  Railroad, 
the  newspapers  spread  all  over  the  country  the 
news  that  Col.  Oliver  P.  Beynolds  had  committed 
suicide.  According  to  their  way,  the  newspapers 
gave  all  the  sickening  details  of  the  tragedy,  to- 
gether with  the  whole  family  history.  They  said 
that  Col.  Reynolds  had  been  driven  to  suicide  by 
his  wife.  They  said  that  she  was  much  younger 
than  he ;  that  she  was  extravagant ;  that  she  was  a 
leader  in  gay  society;  they  told  how,  on  her 
account,  Col.  Reynolds  had  driven  his  son  away 
from  home  fifteen  years  before ;  they  declared  that 
the  old  man's  life  had  been  a  hell  to  him;  and  that 
his  wife  had  brought  him  almost  to  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy,  and,  in  order  to  escape  facing  open 
disgrace,  he  had  murdered  himself. 

When  Will  heard  of  his  father's  death,  he  hast- 
ened at  once  to  the  city,  but  was  denied  admission 
to  the  family  residence,  and  had  to  attend  the 
funeral  in  the  little  church  around  the  corner  not 
as  a  member  of  the  family  but  merely  as  an  out- 
sider. 

We  are  not  concerned  in  this  story  with  the  fate 
of  Will's  stepmother.  But,  as  to  Will's  brothers, 
-well,  the  crash  came  eight  or  ten  years  after  the 
death  of  Col.  Reynolds,  or  a  short  while  before 
Will  became  the  General  Manager  of  the  Big  Bend 
Railroad.  John  B.  Reynolds  and  Thomas  Reyn- 


"THE  BLACK  SHEEP."  173 

olds,  members  of  the  firm  of  John  B.  Eeynolds  & 
Bro.,  had  been  arrested  and  placed  in  the  Tombs, 
charged  with  misappropriating  $175,000  of  trust 


JOHN,  I  SUPPOSE  SISTER  Is  DEAD?" 


funds.  Again  the  family  history  was  rehearsed 
In  the  newspapers.  The  papers  did  not  fail  to 
recall  the  suicide  of  Col  Reynolds,  nor  <Jicl  they 


174  "THE  BLACK  SHEEP." 

fail  to  tell  how  these  two  brothers  had  earlier  in 
life  turned  their  backs  on  a  younger  brother. 

Will  read  the  papers,  and,  saying  to  his  wife, 
"Well,  Mary,  perhaps  they'll  be  glad  to  see  me 
this  trip,"  he  went  immediately  to  offer  his  serv- 
ices to  his  brothers. 

He  had  prophesied  correctly.  John  and  Thomas 
were  very  glad  to  see  him.  They  had  no  friends 
among  those  high  in  financial  circles  because  they 
had  for  many  years  conducted  their  business  in 
such  a  way  that  business  men  had  no  confidence  in 
them.  They  had  no  credit  and  could  get  nobody 
to  go  on  their  bonds.  Will  took  in  the  situation  at 
a  glance.  He  had  been  thoughtful  enough  to 
bring  along  with  him  the  leading  attorney  of  the 
Big  Bend  Eailroad,  and  he  put  matters  straight- 
way into  his  hands.  Bail  was  arranged,  the 
brothers  were  released,  and  the  lawyer  then 
turned  his  attention  to  the  prosecutors.  It  was 
discovered  that  almost  half  of  the  amount  stolen 
was  the  property  of  Simon  B.  Nesmith,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Big  Bend  Railroad.  When  Will 
Reynolds  and  the  lawyer  found  that  their  own 
superior  officer  had  been  so  heavily  hit  by  John 
B.  Reynolds  &  Bro.,  they  came  near  fainting.  For- 
tunately Nesmith  when  he  heard  the  whole  story 
agreed  not  to  prosecute,  and  not  only  said  that  he 
would  be  satisfied  with  any  settlement  that  the 
Railroad's  Attorney  might  arrange  but  also  volun- 
teered to  see  the  others  concerned  and  use  his  influ- 
ence in  having  them  do  likewise. 


"THE   BLACK  SHEEP. "  175 

In  a  short  time  matters  were  adjusted,  and  John 
Reynolds  and  Thomas  Eeynolds  were  saved  from 
prison.  But  they  lost  all  their  earthly  possessions 
and  their  brother,  "the  black  sheep"  of  the 
family,  had  to  secure  them  for  the  sum  of  $40,000 
besides. 

John  B.  Eeynolds  and  Thomas  Eeynolds  came 
to  their  senses.  It  was  their  time  to  cry  now. 
Amidst  great  sobs  they  said, 

"We  treated  you  wrongly,  brother  Will;  we 
ought  to  have  helped  you  many  years  ago ;  we  are 
so  sorry  we  didn't;  and  it  was  such  a  small  mat- 
ter, too." 

But  Will  said,- 

" Don't  talk  about  the  past:  I'm  your  brother 
still.  Go  and  do  as  I  did.  Start  over  and  make 
men  of  yourselves— you'll  have  enough  time. 
That's  all  I  ask." 


THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 

I  heard  a  minister  say  the  other  day  that  a 
mother  had  not  necessarily  done  much  for  her  boy 
because  she  had  bought  him  a  nice  Bible  and  put 
it  in  his  trunk,  when  he  was  about  to  leave  home 
to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  world.  I  think  it  wrong 
for  anybody— minister  or  what  not— to  indulge  in 
such  loose  and  flippant  talk.  The  effect  is  bad— 


176  THE   HOLY    BIBLE. 

always  bad,  and  no  hair  splitting,  and  no  higher 
criticism,  and  no  curiously  ingenius  explana- 
tions can  mend  the  matter.  As  for  me,  give  me  the 
old-fashioned  mother  who  sends  her  son  out  into 
the  world  with  a  Bible  in  his  trunk,  and  give  me 
the  old-fashioned  boy  who  reads  that  Bible  every 
night  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  as  he  thinks  of  the  old 
folks  at  home  and  of  their  simple  lives  devoted  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Give  me  the  man,  woman  or  child, 
whose  hands  touch  the  Bible  reverently,  instead  of 
slinging  it  about  as  a  dictionary  or. some  common 
dime  novel.  Give  me  the  plain  old  fellow  who 
quickly  takes  leave  of  that  circle  in  which  critics 
are  proceeding  to  ably  explain  away  certain  chap- 
ters of  the  Bible. 

As  for  me,  I  want  no  new  theories  about  the 
Bible — no  new  versions — no  new  criticisms.  No 
man  has  a  right  to  weaken  the  faith  of  others. 
No  man  has  a  right  to  knock  away  the  staff  that 
supports  the  crippled  wayfarer.  And  no  man  has 
a  right  to  tell  an  aged  mother  that  it  does  no  good 
to  give  her  boy  a  Bible  unless  he  can  suggest  a 
better  substitute.  Destroy  the  old-fashioned  idea 
concerning  the  Bible,  and  we  shall  have  a  nation 
of  infidels  defying  God,  defying  the  law,  and 
repeating  the  licentiousness  and  horrors  of  the 
French  Revolution.  We  should  make  the  Bible 
first  in  all  things.  Make  the  Bible  first  in  the 
family,  in  the  Sunday-school  and  church,  make  it 
first  in  state  and  society,  and  we  shall  have  a 
Republic  that  will  grow  brighter  and  brighter  as 


THE   HOLY   BIBLE. 


177 


the  years  come  and  go,  and  then  we  ' '  shall  go  out 
with  joy,  and  be  lead  forth  with  peace:  and  the 
mountains  and  the  hills  shall  break  forth  before 
us  into  singing,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall 
clap  their  hands. ' ' 


CARNEGIE  LIBRARY,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
COLORED  PEOPLE  ARE  WELCOME  HERE. 

Andrew  Carnegie,  Greatest  Philanthropist  of  the  Age,  who 
has  climbed  from  the  position  of  messenger  boy  and  telegraph 
operator  to  become  America's  richest  steel  manufacturer,  a 
Multi-Millionaire,  has  given  practically  every  large  city  that 
would  accept  it,  a  Library  for  the  general  public,  averaging  in 
value  $500,000.00.  His  gifts  have  had  enormous  money  value, 
but  the  value  to  humanity  cannot  be  estimated. 


178  ANDREW  CARNEGIE'S  ADVICE 

TO  YOUNG  MEN. 

"Do  not  make  riches,  but  usefulness,  your  first 
aim,  and  let  your  chief  pride  by  that  your  daily 
occupation  is  in  the  line  of  progress  and  develop- 
ment; that  your  work,  in  whatever  capacity  it 
may  be,  is  useful  work,  honestly  conducted,  and  as 
such  ennobles  your  life. 

"Whatever  your  salary  be,  save  a  little;  live 
within  your  means.  The  man  who  saves  a  little 
from  his  income  has  given  the  surest  indication  of 
the  very  qualities  that  every  employer  is  seeking 
for. 

"The  great  successes  of  life  are  made  by  con- 
centration. Do  not  think  you  have  done  your  full 
duty  when  you  have  performed  the  work  assigned 
you.  You  will  never  rise  if  you  only  do  this. 

"You  hear  a  good  deal  about  poverty  nowadays, 
and  the  cry  goes  up  to  abolish  poverty,  but  it  will 
be  the  saddest  day  of  civilization  when  poverty  is 
no  longer  with  us.  It  is  from  the  soil  of  poverty 
that  all  the  virtues  spring.  Without  poverty, 
where  will  your  inventor,  your  artist,  your  philan- 
thropist, come  from! 

"There  are  three  classes  of  young  men  in  the 
world.  One  starts  out  to  be  a  millionaire.  An- 
other seeks  reputation,  perhaps  at  the  cannon's 
mouth.  A  third  young  man,  who  will  be  success- 
ful, is  he  who  starts  out  in  life  with  self-respect 
and  who  is  true  to  himself  and  his  fellow-men. 
He  cannot  fail  to  win." 


BISECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  GENTLEMEN. 

1.  The  essential  part  of  good  breeding  is  the 
practical  desire  to  afford  pleasure  and  to  avoid 
giving  pain.    Any  boy  possessing  this  desire  re- 
quires only  opportunity  and  observation  to  become 
a  little  gentleman. 

2.  Never  be  guilty  of  what  are  called  practical 
jokes;  that  is  to  say,  never  place  a  pin  in  a  chair  so 
that  somebody  may  come  along  and  sit  on  the 
pin's  point;  never  pull  back  a  chair  when  a  per- 
son is  about  to  sit  down,  and  in  that  way  cause 
such  a  person  to  fall  on  the  floor.    No  little  gentle- 
man will  play  such  tricks. 

3.  Whenever  a  lady  enters  a  room,  it  is  proper 
for  boys  to  rise,  if  they  are  seated,  but  you  must 
never  offer  a  lady  a  chair  from  which  you  have 
just  risen,  if  there  is  another  chair  in  the  room. 

4.  Never  engage  in  conversation  while  a  person 
is  singing.    It  is  an  insult  not  only  to  the  singer 
but  to  the  company. 

5.  Always  take  off  your  hat  when  assisting  a 
lady  to  or  from  a  carriage. 

6.  If  in  a  public  place,  you  pass  and  re-pass 
persons  of  your  acquaintance,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  salute  them  on  the  first  occasion. 

7.  Do  not  wear  anything  that  is  so  conspicuous 

179 


180 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  MEN. 


as  to  attract  attention;  and,  particularly,  avoid 
the  ruffian  style. 

8.     Do  not  lose  your  temper.     Particularly  if 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  GENTLEMEN. 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  MEN.  181 

you  are  playing  innocent  games  for  amusement 
and  happen  to  lose;  avoid  the  exhibition  of 
anxiety  or  vexation  at  lack  of  success. 

9.  In  all  your  associations,  keep  constantly  in 
view  the  old  adage,  "too  much  familiarity  breeds 
contempt. " 


THE  EIGHT  TO  PLAY. 

The  right  to  play  is  one  of  the  divine  rights  of 
men  and  women,  of  boys  and  girls,  and  is  just  as 
essential  to  the  peace,  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  the  world  as  is  the  right  to  pray.  Never  be 
afraid  or  ashamed,  my  young  friends,  of  honest, 
vigorous,  healthy  play.  Dominoes,  lawn  tennis, 
baseball,  football,  ping-pong,  golf,  foot-racing, 
leaping  and  jumping,  boxing  and  wrestling,  pole- 
vaulting,  punching  the  bag,  swinging  dumb-bells 
or  Indian  clubs,  and  a  hundred  other  things  are 
perfectly  sane  and  wholesome  amusements  for  old* 
or  young.  To  refrain  from  all  forms  of  amuse- 
ments is  just  as  destructive  of  happiness  and  in- 
jurious to  character  as  is  the  other  extreme  of 
indulging  too  freely  in  pleasures  and  pastimes. 
Puritan  austerity  and  unrestrained  excess  are 
alike  to  be  condemned.  But  a  certain  amount  of 
play— play  of  the  right  kind  and  within  proper 
limits — is  a  divine  right  of  young  people.  Young 
people  must  have  fun  and  relaxation,  and,  if  they 
do  not  find  it  in  their  own  homes,  it  will  be  sought 
in  other  and  perhaps  dangerous  places. 


182  THE   RIGHT   TO   PLAY. 

For  myself,  I  believe  that  anybody  is  an  enemy 
to  young  people  who  desires  to  repress  and  crush 
out  the  naturally  buoyant  spirits  of  childhood  and 
youth,  and  he  is  a  benefactor  of  humanity  who 
makes  it  a  part  of  his  business  to  see  that  proper 
places  of  amusement  are  provided,  for  the  young 
people.  Aside  from  the  physical  advantages  of 
play,  there  are  moral  advantages  also.  A  man 
who  helps  to  keep  his  body  in  good  condition  by 
regular  exercise  is,  in  that  way,  beyond  a  doubt, 
adding  to  the  number  of  his  days;  that  is  to  say, 
he  will  live  longer  than  the  man  who  doesn't  play. 
But  beyond  and  above  that,  he  is  a  happier  man 
while  he  lives;  he  gets  more  joy  and  satisfaction 
out  of  life  than  the  other  fellow.  Sane  and  healthy 
play  tends  to  blot  out  the  remembrance  of  cares 
and  hardship ;  it  gives  our  minds  something  else 
to  think  about.  But  young  people  must  be  care- 
ful not  to  become  absorbed  in  these  things.  I  be- 
lieve in  play;  I  believe  in  pleasure,  in  fun.  But 
when  I  see  young  people,  or  old  people  for  that 
matter,  devoting  all  their  time  to  wheeling,  foot- 
balling, card  parties,  the  giddy  whirl  of  the  dance, 
the  bacchanalian  hilarity  of  the  dram  'shop,  and  so 
on,  I  am  forced  to  say  that  things  which  may  be 
right  when  taken  in  moderation,  and  as  a  relief 
from  the  overtaxing  burdens  of  life,  are  wrong 
when  they  become  the  chief  object  for  which  one 
lives. 


A  CHKISTMAS  PRESENT. 

A  forsaken  little  kitten  wandered  up  and  down 
the  street  on  the  day  before  Christmas.  It  had  no 
home;  it  had  no  name;  it  had  no  ribbon  around  its 
neck;  and  it  had  no  saucer  of  nice  milk  in  one  cor- 
ner. 

It  began  to  grow  dark,  and  colder  too,  and  the 
stars  came  peeping  out,  and  the  first  flakes  of  a 
real  Christmas  snowstorm  began  floating  down 
through  the  air.  The  kitten  mewed  a  trembling 
little  mew,  which  told  as  plainly  as  it  could  that  it 
was  very  hungry,  and  it  fluffed  out  its  fur  to  keep 
itself  warm. 

Now,  somewhere  along  that  street,  up  on  top  of 
a  house  (hiding  behind  a  chimney  where  he 
couldn't  be  seen),  was  Santa  Claus,  getting  every- 
thing in  shape  before  starting  on  his  evening 
round.  When  old  Santa  saw  that  lonesome  little 
kitten  strolling  around  he  smiled— yes,  old  Santa 
Claus  smiled.  He  smiled  because  he  knew  that  two 
blocks  up  the  street  a  little  girl  was  standing  with 
her  nose  pressed  against  the  window,  looking  out 
into  the  deepening  night. 

He  had  seen  her  as^he  went  by.  And  he  had  also 
seen  the  poor  little  supper  laid  out  for  two  on  the 
table,  and  heard  her  say  to  her  mother,  in  a  quav- 
ering voice: 

183 


184 


A  CHRISTMAS  PRESENT. 


"Not  even  one  present,  mamma — not  the  teen- 
iest little  one ! ' ' 

"No,  Susie, "  her  mother  had  answered,  "I'm 
sorry  I  couldn't  get  anything  for  my  little  girl  this 
year,  but — you  know  there  wasn't  any  money, 
dear."  And  there  was  a  tremble  in  her  mother's 
voice,  too. 

Susie  wiped  away 
the  tears,  and  turned 
to  look  out  of  the  win- 
dow. Perhaps  she 
said  to  herself,  "per- 
haps Santa  Clause 
has  something  for  me 
after  all!" 

Now,  the  sad,  real- 
ly dreadful  part  about 
it  was  that  Santa 
Clause  didn  't  have 
one  single  thing  for 
Susie  in  his  pack. 
Perhaps  it  was  be- 
cause she  had  moved 
into  that  house  since 

last  Christmas,  or  perhaps  for  once  old  Santa  had 
made  a  mistake.  Anyway,  he  was  just  saying  to 
himself:  "Why,  bless  me,  what  shall  I  do  about 
it?"  when  he  caught  sight  of  that  shivering  little 
kitten. 

' ' The  very  thing ! "  he  thought.  " I'll  give  them 
to  each  other!"  and  he  chuckled  till  his  reindeer 
looked  around  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

And  what  happened  next?     Well,  that  kitten 


"MAMMA    THIS   is   THE    PRESENT 
SANTA  BROUGHT." 


A  CHRISTMAS  PRESENT.  185 

never  knew  really.  It  only  seemed  as  if  there  was 
a  sudden  rush  and  jingle  of  bells,  which  fright- 
ened it  s,o  that  it  flew  up  the  street  as  fast  as  its 
four  little  legs  could  carry  it,  until  it  saw  a  small 
friendly  face  at  a  window,  and  rushed  up  some 
steps  nearby.  Then  a  door  opened,  and  two  soft 
little  arms  picked  it  up  gently  from  the  cold  snow 
and  a  voice  cried: 

"Oh,  mamma,  see  the  poor  little  kitten — it's  so 
cold — oh,  we'll  keep  it,  won't  we,  mamma!  The 
poor  little  thing.  Do  you  think  it  would  drink 
milk?" 

Would  it  drink  milk!  What  a  question  to  ask 
about  a  little  kitten.  While  the  little  kitten  was 
nearly  choking  itself  trying  to  drink  a  saucerfu] 
of  milk  and  purr  at  the  same  time,  there  was  a 
jingle  of  bells  outside,  and  Susie  said: 

"Mamma,  I  hear  old  Santa's  bells,  and,  of 
course,  this  is  the  present  he  brought." 


THE  NICKEL  THAT  BURNED  IN  FRANK'S 
POCKET. 

Deacon  Hepworth  kept  a  little  fish  market. 

"Do  you  want  a  boy  to  help  you?"  asked  Frank 
Shaw  one  day. 

"Can  you  give  good  weight  to  my  customers 
and  take  good  care  of  my  pennies?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  Frank. 

Forthwith  he  took  his  place  in  the  IHtle  store, 
weighed  the  fish  and  kept  the  room  in  order. 


186  THE  NICKEL  THAT  BURNED. 

"A  whole  day  for  fun,  fireworks  and  noise  to- 
morrow !"  exclaimed  Frank,  as  he  buttoned  his 
white  apron  about  him  the  day  before  the  Fourth 
of  July.  A  great  trout  was  thrown  down  on  the 
counter  by  Ned  Tant,  one  of  Frank's  playmates. 


"You  HAVE  FORGIVENESS,  FRANK." 

"Here's  a  royal  trout,  Frank.  I  caught  it  my- 
self. You  may  have  it  for  ten  cents.  Just  hand 
over  the  money,  for  I'm  in  a  hurry  to  buy  my  fire- 
crackers," said  Ned  hurriedly. 


THE   NICKEL  THAT  BURNED.  187 

The  deacon  was  out,  but  Frank  had  made  pur- 
chases for  him  before,  so  the  dime  spun  across  to 
Ned,  who  was  off  like  a  shot.  Just  then  Mrs.  Sin- 
clair appeared. 

"I  want  a  nice  trout  for  my  dinner  tomorrow. 
This  one  will  do;  how  much  is  it?"  she  asked  as 
she  carefully  examined  it. 

"A  quarter,  ma'am,"  and  the  fish  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  lady's  basket  and  the  silver  piece 
to  the  money  drawer. 

But  here  Frank  paused. 

He  thought  to  himself:  "Ten  cents  was  very 
cheap  for  that  fish.  If  I  tell  the  deacon  it  cost 
fifteen  cents  he  '11  be  satisfied,  and  I  shall  have  five 
cents  to  invest  in  firecrackers." 

The  deacon  was  pleased  with  Frank's  bargain, 
and  when  the  market  was  closed  each  went  his 
way  for  the  night. 

But  the  nickel  buried  in  Frank's  pocket  burned 
like  a  coal.  He  could  eat  no  supper,  and  was  cross 
and  unhappy.  At  last  he  could  stand  it  no  longer, 
but,  walking  rapidly,  tapped  at  the  door  of  Dea- 
con Hepworth's  cottage. 

The  old  man  was  seated  at  a  table,  reading  the 
Bible.  Frank's  heart  almost  failed  him,  but  he 
told  the  story  and  with  tears  of  sorrow  laid  the 
coin  in  the  deacon's  hand. 

Turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  Bible,  the  old 
man  read: 

"He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper, 


188 


THE   NICKEL  THAT  BURNED. 


but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsakefb  them  shall 
have  mercy. " 

"You  have  forgiveness,  Frank,"  he  said.  "Now 
go  home  and  confess  to  the  Lord,  and  remember 
you  must  forsake  as  well  as  confess.  Here,  you 
may  keep  this  coin  as  long  as  you  live  to  remind 
you  of  your  first  temptation." 


M-f 


In  the  city  of  Colum- 
bus, Georgia,  there  was 
erected  in  the  year  1904 
a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  a  colored 
man  named  Bragg 
Smith.  Mr.  Smith  lost 
his  life  in  the  autumn 
of  1903  in  an  effort  to 
save  the  life  of  the  city 
engineer  of  Columbus, 
who  had  been  buried 
under  an  excavation  in 
the  street.  A  large 
crowd  of  colored  men 


MONUMENT    TO    A   BLACK    MAN.        189 

was  at  work  digging  deep  trenches  in  which  were 
to  be  placed  pipes  for  running  water  about  the  city. 
In  some  way  the  sides  of  the  narrow  trench  had 
not  been  properly  supported  by  planks  or  other- 
wise, and  by-and-by  a  great  stretch  of  dirt  caved 
in.  Unfortunately  the  city  engineer,  a  white  man, 
was  caught  underneath  the  falling  dirt.  Bragg 
Smith  did  not  stop  to  say:  "Oh,  it's  a  white  man; 
let  him  die!"  but  at  once  jumped  down  into  the 
ditch  and  tried  to  pull  the  white  man  from  under 
the  heavy  dirt.  It  was  while  he  was  engaged  in 
this  work  that  the  dirt  fell  from  both  sides  a  sec- 
ond time,  and  Bragg  Smith,  in  his  effort  to  save 
the  life  of  the  white  man,  lost  his  own  life.  The 
Bible  says:  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this, 
that  a  man  will  lay  down  his  life  for  a  friend. " 

The  city  council  at  its  first  regular  meeting  after 
the  accident  voted  to  erect  a  suitable  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Smith.  The  monument  was 
dedicated  in  April,  1904.  The  monument  is  of  Ver- 
mont and  Georgia  marbles,  and  bears  on  one  side 
this  inscription: 

"Erected  by  the  City  of  Columbus  to  mark  the 
last  resting  place  of  Bragg  Smith,  who  died  on 
September  30,  1903,  in  the  heroic  but  fruitless 
effort  to  save  the  life  of  the  city  engineer. " 

On  the  other  side  appears  this  quotation  from 
Alexander  Pope: 

"Honor  and  fame  from  no  conditions  rise; 

Act  well  your  part;  there  all  the  honor  lies." 


THE  BAD  BOY- WHO  HE  IS. 

My  dear  children,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  all 
boys  who  are  called  bad  boys  are  not  bad  boys. 
There  is  quite  a  difference  between  a  bad  boy 
and  a  merely  mischievous  boy.  A  boy  is  not  nec- 
essarily bad  because  he  makes  unearthly  noises 
about  the  house,  or  now  and  then  twists  the  cat's 
tail  just  to  hear  her  mew,  or  muddies  his  clothes 
in  an  effort  to  catch  crawfish.  He  is  not  bad  just 
because  he  likes  to  ' '  play  fantastic ' '  on  the  fourth 
day  of  July.  So  many  people  complain  of  their 
boys  being  bad  when  they  are  only  mischievous— 
that  is  to  say,  when  they  are  only  full  of  life.  Some 
people  think  that  a  good  boy  is  one  that  has  a  pale 
face  and  looks  sickly;  one  that  wears  a  sanctimon- 
ious look  and  moves  along  through  the  world  as 
though  he  were  afraid  to  put  one  foot  in  front  of 
the  other.  That  isn't  my  kind  of  a  boy.  I  do  not 
think  that  kind  of  a  fellow  is  a  boy  at  all— he  is 
'most  a  girl!  A  boy  who  never  enjoys  a  romp  in 
the  woods,  who  never  climbs  the  apple  tree  before 
or  after  the  apples  are  ripe,  who  never  plays  ball, 
who  will  not  shoot  marbles,  etc.— this  sort  of  a 
boy  usually  dies  young,  or  he  grows  up  to  be  a 
"male  woman."  I  mean  by  that,  that  he  grows 
up  to  be  a  man  who  acts  like  a  woman;  and  that 
kind  of  man  is  hardly  fit  for  anything. 

190 


THE   BAD   BOY- WHO   HE   IS. 


191 


But  there  are  some  bad  boys,  I  am  sorry  to  say 
—really  bad  boys,  bad  in  heart  and  in  deed.  I 
have  seen  some  on  the  chain  gangs;  I  have  seen 
some  hanging  around  the  street  corners— especial- 


PLAY  FANTASTIC"  ON  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


ly  on  Sundays,  with  no  clean  clothes  on;  I  have 
seen  them  smoking  cigarettes— and  a  cigarette  is 
something  which  no  manly  boy  will  use;  I  have 
seen  them  in  saloons,  drinking,  playing  pool  and 


192  THE    BAD   BOY- WHO   HE    IS. 

playing  cards;  I  have  sometimes  seen  them  shoot- 
ing dice  in  the  street  for  money.  There  are  prob- 
ably one  thousand  boys  in  the  jails,  reformatories 
and  in  the  penitentiaries  in  the  single  state  of 
Georgia.  To  form  anything  like  an  adequate  esti- 
mate of  the  total  number  of  bad  boys  in  the  South 
we  must  add  to  the  above  number  the  boys  im- 
prisoned in  the  other  states;  and,  also,  that  much 
larger  number  who  have  never  been  imprisoned. 
because  they  happen  never  to  have  been  arrested, 
or  who  have  been  arrested  and  have  had  their 
fines  paid  in  money;  and,  finally,  we  must  add 
those  who  have  already  served  their  time  and  are 
again  at  large.  So,  you  see,  there  are  many 
thousands  and  thousands  of  bad  boys  in  the  world, 
and  they  are  very  easily  found.  Are  you  a  bad 
boy  or  a  good  boy?  Isn't  it  better  to  be  a  good 
boy  than  to  be  a  bad  boy? 


THE  BAD  BOY-HOW  TO  HELP  HIM. 

Almost  anybody  can  make  something  out  of  a 
boy  who  is  naturally  good,  but  it  takes  one  of  very 
Christlike  power  and  patience  to  make  anything 
out  of  a  really  bad  boy.  Yet  all  boys  may  be  re- 
claimed, reformed,  saved;  at  least  so  I  believe. 
And  the  first  step  in  making  a  good  man  out  of  a 
bad  boy  has  to  do  with  the  boy's  body.  The  Holy 


THE  BAD  BOY-HOW  TO  HELP  HIM.       193 


Bible  tells  us  that  our  bodies  are 
the  temples— the  dwelling  places— 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  every  boy, 
and  every  teacher  of  every  boy,  in 
the  home  or  day  school  or  Sunday 
school,  should  give  more  time  and 


THE   BAD   BOY 


attention  to  the  body  in 
order  to  make  it  a  fit  place 
for  such  a  holy  being.  It 
is  as  true  now  as  of  old 
that  plenty  of  soap  and 
water  will  exert  a  whole- 
some influence  in  making 
bad  boys  good.  Some  one 
has  said  that  cleanliness 
is  next  to  godliness,  and 
somebody  has  added  that 
soap  is  a  means  of  grace. 
A  boy  who  is  taught  to 
bathe  regularly  and  who  is 
taught  to  keep  his  clothing 
neat  and  clean  at  all 
times  will  in  that  way 


194        THE  BAD  BOY-HOW  TO  HELP  HIM, 

learn  the  great  lesson  of  self-respect  quicker  than 
in  any  other  way;  and,  in  my  judgment,  the  short- 
est way  to  the  purification  of  a  boy's  habits,  a 
boy's  morals,  a  boy's  character,  is  to  teach  him 
first  to  keep  his  body  pure.  Keep  it  pure  not  only 
by  baths  and  clean  clothes,  but  keep  it  pure  and 
sweet  by  keeping  it  free  from  whiskey  and  to- 
bacco in  every  form.  Exercise,  regular  and  sys- 
tematic exercise,  whether  as  work  or  play,  will  go 
a  great  way  towards  keeping  the  body  clean  and 
healthy.  Every  boy  is  mistaken,  every  parent  is 
mistaken,  who  thinks  that  labor  is  unworthy,  or 
that  any  kind  of  honest  work  is  degrading.  The 
body  needs  to  be  kept  alive  and  vigorous  by  the 
frequent  use  of  all  its  parts,  and  there  is  no  better 
way  to  keep  the  body  vigorous  than  by  doing  some 
kind  of  work— work  that  requires  the  use  of  the 
hands  and  legs  and  muscles,  work  that  stimulates 
the  blood  and  makes  it  flow  freely  through  the 
body. 

Another  step  in  the  process  of  making  a  good 
man  out  of  a  bad  boy  has  to  do  with  the  mind.  The 
body  grows  not  alone  by  exercise,  but  the  body 
grows  by  what  we  put  into  it :  the  food  we  eat  and 
the  water  we  drink,  etc.  We  might  say,  I  think, 
that  the  body  grows  on  what  it  feeds  on.  It  is  the 
same  way  with  the  mind :  the  mind  grows  on  what 
it  feeds  on.  If  we  feed  our  minds  on  obscene  pic- 
tures, on  bad  books,  on  vulgar  stories,  told  by  our- 
selves or  our  associates,  we  cannot  expect  to  have 
minds  that  are  keenly  alive  and  active  for  good. 


THE  BAD  BOY-HOW  TO  HELP  HIM. 


Our  thoughts  control  us,  boys  and  girls,  whether 
we  understand  the  process  by  which  they  control 
or  not.  Our  thoughts  control  us.  If  our  thoughts 
are  pure  and  sweet  and  noble,  we  will  be  pure  and 
sweet  and  noble.  If  our  thoughts  are  impure,  vile 
and  ignoble,  we  will  be  impure,  vile  and  ignoble. 
Our  thoughts  rule  us.  So  every  boy  should  guard 
well  his  thoughts;  every  boy  should  guard  well 
what  he  puts  into  his  mind.  Every  boy's  mind 
feeds  on  what  he  puts  into  it,  and  every  boy's 
mind  grows  on  what  it  t  feeds.  It  goes  without 
saying,  then,  that  a  boy  should  not  read  "  blood 
and  thunder"  detective  stories,  stories  about  the 
"  James  Brothers"  and  other  outlaws  and  ban- 
dits; nor  should  a  boy  read  filthy  so-called  "love 
stories."  All  such  literature  should  be  shunned, 
as  a  boy  would  shun  deadly  poison.  A  boy  who 
desires  to  become  a  good  man  should  read  only 
those  things  which  will  give  him  confidence  in 
himself  that  he  can  and  may  become  a  good  man- 
good  for  the  service  of  God  and  the  service  of  his 
fellow-men.  Bad  company  must  also  be  left  behind 
if  a  bad  boy  wants  to  become  a  good  boy.  Those 
boys  who  tell  smutty  jokes  and  stories  should  not 
be  allowed  to  associate  with  that  boy  whose  eyes 
have  been  opened  and  who  wants  to  feed  his  mind 
on  good  and  wholesome  food.  Character,  boys, 
in  its  last  analysis  depends  chiefly  on  three  things  : 
Heredity,  environment  and  will.  Now  you  cannot 
do  much  to  change  your  inherited  tendencies— 
the  tendencies  you  receive  from  mother  and  father 


196        THE  BAD  BOY-HOW  TO  HELP  HIM. 

at  birth,  but  you  can  do  much  in  offsetting,  in 
overcoming  these  tendencies.  You  can  also  do 
much  with  the  aid  of  a  generous  and  enlightened 
public  to  change  your  surroundings  if  they  hap- 
pen to  be  bad.  I  confess  that  your  mothers  and 
fathers,  your  teachers  and  pastors  ought  to  do 
much  more  in  this  regard  than  you ;  but  if  they  will 
not  exert  themselves  to  get  you  out  of  evil  sur- 
roundings, then,  as  you  value  your  own  life  and 
time  and  possibilities,  by  the  help  of  God,  try  to 
get  out  yourselves.  The  will  is  very  largely  in- 
fluenced by  your  surroundings.  Hence  you  can 
see  the  importance  of  having  good  books  and  good 
associates. 

But  whatever  you  do,  boys,  do  not  forget  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  takes  away  the  sin 
of  the  world.  The  highest  part  of  your  nature  is 
your  spiritual  nature,  and,  while  you  are  building 
up  the  body  and  building  up  the  mind,  do  not  for- 
get to  build  up  your  soul.  If  others  will  not  assist 
you  in  this  greater  matter  you  can  help  yourselves. 
The  Master  said:  "Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not." 


THOMAS  GREENE  BETHUNE 

("BLIND  TOM") 

I  suppose  there  is  not  a  little  colored  girl  or 
boy  in  America  who  has  not  heard  of  the  wonder- 
ful " Blind  Tom,"  one  of  the  greatest  musicians 
of  the  world.  I  wish  that  every  boy  and  girl 
might  have  seen  him  and  heard  him  give'  one  of  his 
remarkable  performances  with  the  piano.  I  had 
that  high  favor  and  privilege  myself.  During  his 
life  on  the  stage,  or  for  more  than  forty  years, 
" Blind  Tom"  was  seen  probably  by  more  people 
in  the  world  than  any  one  living  being.  His  stage 
career  was  closed  somewhere  in  1900.  Every- 
where, in  this  country  and  Europe,  those  who 
observed  him  most  closely,  and  attempted  to 
understand  him,  pronounced  him  a  living  miracle, 
unparalleled,  incomprehensible,  such  as  had  not 
been  seen  before  in  the  world,  and  probably  never 
would  be  seen  again. 

Thomas  Greene  Bethune,  better  known  to  the 
public  as  " Blind  Tom,"  was  born  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  city  of  Columbus,  Georgia,  on  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  May,  1849.  He  was  of  pure 
negro  blood,  and  was  born  blind.  He  was  little 
less  than  four  years  old  when  a  piano  was  brought 

197 


198  THOMAS  GREENE  BETHUNE. 

to  the  house  of  his  master,  for  he  was  born  a  slave. 
As  long  as  any  one  was  playing  he  was  contented 
to  stay  in  the  yard  and  dance  and  caper  to  the 
music.  Sometimes  he  was  permitted  to  indulge  his 
curiosity  by  being  allowed  to  run  his  fingers  over 
the  keys.  One  night  the  parlor  and  piano  had  been 
left  open.  Before  day  the  young  ladies  of  the  fam- 
ily awoke  and  were  astounded  to  hear  Blind  Tom 
playing  one  of  their  pieces.  The  family  gathered 
around  him  to  witness  and  wonder  at  his  perform- 
ance, which  they  said  was  marvellously  strange. 
Notwithstanding  that  this  was  his  first  known 
effort  at  a  tune,  he  played  with  both  hands  and 
used  the  black  as  well  as  the  white  keys.  Pretty 
soon  he  was  allowed  free  access  to  the  piano,  and 
began  to  play  off-hand  everything  he  heard.  As 
young  as  he  was,  he  soon  mastered  all  of  that  and 
began  composing  for  himself.  The  record  of  his 
public  life  is  too  long  for  me  to  give,  but  that 
Blind  Tom  was  known  and  honored  around  the 
world  is  known  to  everybody. 

But  feeling  that  every  colored  boy  and  girl 
should  be  justly  proud  of  Blind  Tom's  record, 
I  will  give  some  words  from  the  book  of  Hon. 
James  M.  Trotter,  himself  a  colored  man.  His 
book  is  called  "  Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical 
People. "  He  says: 

"  Blind  Tom  is  unquestionably  the  most  won- 
derful musician  the  world  has  ever  known.  He  is 
an  absolute  master  in  the  comprehension  and  re- 
tention of  all  sound.  You  may  sit  down  to  the 


THOMAS  GREENE  BETHUNE.  199 

pianoforte  and  strike  any  note  or  chord  or  dis- 
cord, or  a  great  number  of  them,  and  he  will  at 
once  give  their  proper  names,  and,  taking  your 
place,  reproduce  them.  Complete  master  of  the 
pianoforte  keyboard,  he  calls  to  his  melodious 
uses,  with  most  consummate  ease,  all  of  its  re- 
sources that  are  known  to  skillful  performers,  as 
well  as  constantly  discovers  and  applies  those  that 
are  new.  Under  his  magnetic  touch  this  instrument 
may  become,  at  his  will,  a  music  box,  a  hand 
organ,  a  harp,  or  a  bagpipe,  a  "Scotch  fiddle, "  a 
church  organ,  a  guitar,  or  a  banjo;  it  may  imitate 
the  "stump  speaker "  as  he  delivers  his  glowing 
harangue;  or,  being  brought  back  to  its  legiti- 
mate tones,  it  may  be  made  to  sing  two  melodies 
at  once,  while  the  performer,  with  his  voice,  de- 
livers a  third,  all  three  in  different  time  and  keys, 
all  in  perfect  tune  and  time,  and  each  one  easily 
distinguishable  from  the  other !  He  remembers  and 
plays  fully  seven  thousand  pieces.  Some  persons, 
it  is  true,  have  had  the  temerity  to  say  that  Blind 
Tom  is  an  idiot.  Out  with  the  idea!  Who  ever 
heard  of  an  idiot  possessing  such  power  of  mem- 
ory, such  fineness  of  musical  sensibility,  such 
order,  such  method,  as  he  displays?  Let  us  call 
him  the  embodiment  of  music,  the  soul  of  music, 
and  there  let  our  investigations  rest,  for  all  else 
is  vain  speculation.  No  one  lives,  or,  so  far  as  we 
know,  has  ever  lived,  that  can  at  all  fie  compared 
with  him." 


NOT  FIT  TO  KNOW. 


Susan  and  Mamie  and  Lillian  and  Marjorie  were 
always  close  friends.  They  usually  went  together 
and  played  together  and  it  was  very  unusual  to 
see  one  of  them  without  the  others.  At  school  they 
always  made  it  a  rule  to  lunch  together  and  play 
together.  One  day  at  recess  they  were  standing 
in  a  little  group  all  by  them- 
selves when  Frances  joined 
them. 

"What  are  you  talking 
about,  girls  ?"  asked  Frances 
in  cheerful  tones. 

"I'm  telling  them  a  secret/' 
said  Susie,  "and  we  will  let 
you  know,  too,  Frances,  if 
you'll  promise  not  to  tell  any 
one." 

"I'll  promise  you  not  to  tell 
^anybody  but  my  mother,"  said 
'Frances,  "for  I  have  made  it  a 
rule  to  tell  my  mother  every- 
thing." 

"No;  you  can't  even  tell 
your  mother, ' '  answered  Susie ; 
"you  must  not  tell  any  one  in 
the  world." 

200 


FRANCES." 


NOT  FIT  TO  KNOW.  201 

"Well,  then,  I  refuse  to  hear  it,"  said  Frances, 
as  she  walked  away,  "for  what  I  can't  tell  my 
mother  is  not  fit  for  me  to  know." 

Don't  you  think  Frances  was  right,  girls?  I 
think  so.  As  soon  as  little  boys  and  girls  begin 
to  listen  to  words  and  stories  which  they  would 
be  ashamed  to  repeat  to  their  mothers  they  are 
on  the  road  to  temptation,  and  nobody  can  tell  how 
soon  they  will  reach  the  end,  which  is  always  dis- 
grace and  death. 

I  wish  all  the  boys  and  girls  who  will  read  this 
book  would  make  the  reply  of  Frances  their  mot- 
to: "What  I  cannot  tell  my  mother  is  not  fit  to 
know."  Stick  to  this  rule  through  thick  and 
thin,  and  you  will  avoid  many  of  the  snares  and 
pitfalls  by  which  many  of  your  companions  and 
playmates  sink  into  shame  and  sin.  Don't  read 
a  note  that  you  would  be  afraid  to  have  your 
mother  read.  Don't  look  at  a  picture  that  you 
would  be  ashamed  to  have  your  mother  see.  Don 't 
speak  any  word,  and  don't  allow  any  to  be  spoken 
to  you,  that  you  would  not  like  to  have  your  moth- 
er hear.  A  girl's  best  friend  is  her  mother.  A 
boy's  best  friend  is  his  mother.  And,  boys  and 
girls,  be  very  sure  that  if  a  thing  isn't  fit  for  your 
mothers  to  know  it  isn't  fit  for  you  to  know. 


THE  EIGHT  WAY. 

Henry  Oliphant  always  considered  himself 
lucky  whenever  he  was  able  to  get  a  ride  on  the 
street  cars  without  paying  for  it,  or  get  a  glass  of 
soda  water  or  be  admitted  to  some  public  place, 
where  an  admission  fee  was  charged,  without  pay- 
ing the  price.  He  was  bragging  one  day  to  some 
of  his  boy  friends  that  he  had  not  paid  anything 
to  witness  the  school  exhibition  the  night  before. 
Frank  Sewall  was  brave  enough  to  chide  him  for 
having  done  so.  Frank  was  a  plain-spoken  boy, 
and  Henry  didn't  like  what  Frank  had  said.  He 
thought  what  he  had  done  was  all  right,  while 
Frank  had  said  that  it  was  all  wrong.  Anyhow, 
Henry  decided  to  get  his  father's  opinion  on  the 
matter. 

" Father, "  he  said,  when  night  had  come,  "I  got 
in  the  hall  last  night  for  nothing." 

" How  was  that!" 

"I  just  walked  by  the  doorkeeper  and  he  didn't 
ask  me  for  any  money. ' ' 

"Did  the  doorkeeper  see  you?" 

"Well,  father,  that  was  his  business;  he  was  put 
there  for  that  purpose;  he  ought  to  have  seen 


. . 


But  I  asked  you,  Henry,  whether  the  door- 
keeper saw  you.  I  want  you  to  answer  that  ques- 
tion." 

202 


THE    RIGHT   WAY.  203 

" I  don't  know,  sir." 

"Do  you  think  he  saw  jour9 

"I  don't  know,  sir." 

"Well,  Henry,  if  he  had  seen  you,  don't  you 
think  he  would  have  asked  you  for  your  money 
or  a  ticket ! ' ' 


••FATHER,"  HE  SAID,  WHEN  NIGHT  HAD  COME,  "I  GOT  IN  THE 
HALL  LAST  NIGHT  FOB  NOTHING." 

"I  guess  so,  father;  but  he  didn't  ask  me  for 
anything. ' ' 

"Well,  now,  Henry,  you  know  that  a  charge  of 
ten  cents  was  made  at  the  door,  and  that  no  one 


204  THE    EIGHT   WAY. 

had  a  right  to  enter  who  had  not  paid  the  ten 
cents.  You  did  go  in  without  paying.  Now, 
whether  the  doorkeeper  saw  you  or  not,  do  you 
think  that  that  was  quite  honest  on  your  part? 
Was  that  the  right  way  for  you  to  act?" 

'  '  Well,  I  would  have  paid  him  if  he  asked  me.  I 
wasn  't  the  doorkeeper. ' ' 

"I  guess  the  man  who  stole  our  wood  last  week 
would  have  paid  me  if  I  had  seen  him  and  asked 
him;  but  we  called  that  stealing." 

"But,  father,  I  did  not  take  anything  from  the 
doorkeeper. ' ' 

"Who  gave  you  the  money  with  which  to  pay 
your  admission?" 

"Mother." 

' '  Where  is  that  money  now  ? ' ' 

"I  have  it;  but  I  didn't  take  it  from  the  door- 
keeper." 

"But  you  kept  ft  from  him,  Henry.  It  belongs 
to  the  doorkeeper.  He  gave  you  its  value.  My 
son,  the  right  way  is,  whenever  you  buy  anything, 
whether  it  be  a  ride  or  a  glass  of  soda  water  or 
permission  to  see  a  concert,  whenever  you  buy 
anything  you  ought  to  pay  for  it.  If  you  don't 
you  are  no  better  than  a  common  robber.  You  must 
go  today  and  give  Mr.  Hall  that  ten  cents." 


KEEPING  FRIENDSHIP  IN  REPAIR. 

I  sometimes  think  that  boys  and  girls,  and  even 
old  people,  are  often  careless  in  the  matter  of  their 
friendships— not  careless  in  the  matter  of  select- 
ing friends,  though  I  am  sure  there  is  room 
for  improvement  along  that  line— but  careless 
in  trying  to  keep  the  good  friendships  we  have 
already  formed.  We  ought  to  keep  our  friend- 
ships in  repair.  Perhaps  you  think  that  our 
friendships  are  not  things  which  need  to  be 
kept  in  repair.  How  foolish  it  is  to  think  so! 
Does  a  garden  need  to  be  weeded?  Does  an 
old  fence  need  to  be  kept  in  repair?  Do  we 
paint  our  houses  only  once  in  a  century?  What 
about  the  musician— does  he  not  need  to  keep  in 
practice?  Supposing  that  you  never  kept  your 
muscles  in  repair  by  constant  use  or  exercise— 
how  long  would  you  be  strong  or  healthy?  And 
do  you  think  that  your  friendships,  because  they 
are  in  a  way  intangible— you  cannot  see  them, 
handle  them  or  taste  them— do  you  think  that 
they  grow  and  thrive  of  their  own  accord,  and, 
therefore,  do  not  need  to  be  kept  in  repair? 
Slights,  snubs,  angry  words,  unpleasant  conduct, 
long  continued  lack  of  association,  long  continued 
lack  of  familiar  intercourse,  and  coldness,  even 
where  the  meetings  are  periodic— these  things, 

205 


KEEPING  FRIENDSHIP  IN  REPAIR.      207 

boys  and  girls,  will  kill  the  warmest  friendship 
and  choke  the  tenderest  love.  So  we  ought  to  be 
careful  to  keep  our  friendships  in  repair.  If  we 
had  no  friends  in  this  world,  no  playmates  and 
companions,  no  kindred  spirits  into  whose  keenest 
sorrows  and  highest  joys  we  entered  with  deep 
and  full  sympathy,  and  who 
did  not  enter  into  our  sorrows 
and  joys  in  the  same  way— if 
we  had  no  friends  in  this 
world,  with  all  of  its  wealth 


THE  Two  PATHS. 

and  splendor,  we  should  not  desire  to  live  very 
much  longer.  But  to  have  friends  and  to  be 
friendly  goes  a  long  way  towards  making  the 
world  a  beautiful  and  blessed  place  to  live  in. 

How,  then,  may  we  keep  our  friends?     Easy 
enough— by  cultivating  them;  and  we  cannot  keep 


208        KEEPING  FRIENDSHIP  IN  REPAIR. 

them  in  any  other  way.  We  should  take  time  to  be 
friendly.  Little  notes,  little  presents,  little  visits, 
little  social  entertainments,  little  kindnesses— 
these  things,  and  things  like  them,  go  a  great  way 
in  cementing  our  friendships,  in  tying  people  to 
us,  as  it  were,  with  hooks  of  steel.  We  should  not 
neglect  these  means  of  keeping  our  friendships  in 
repair.  Always  give  your  Mends  a  cordial  wel- 
come in  your  homes,  and  at  your  little  children's 
parties;  let  them  feel,  make  them  feel,  that  their 
coming  adds  to  your  pleasure  without  increasing 
your  burdens.  Don't  be  selfish  and  narrow;  be 
broad-minded  and  liberal.  Keep  your  friendships 
in  repair,  and  then  see  if  you  do  not  find  your 
horizon  broadened,  your  life  sweetened,  and  the 
weary  weight  of  this  sad  old  world  lightened. 


LITTLE  ANNIE'S  CHRISTMAS. 

Christmas  morning  came. 

Daylight  was  just  peeping  into  the  room. 

Poor  little  Annie,  the  cripple,  awoke  and  turned 
her  eyes  towards  the  corner  where  she  had  hung 
her  stocking  the  night  before. 

Surely,  she  thought,  as  she  watched  it,  there 
could  not  be  very  much  in  it,  because  it  didn't 
seem  to  be  any  larger  than  it  was  when  she  had 


LITTLE    ANNIE'S    CHRISTMAS.  209 

hung  it  up.  After  awhile  she  crept  slowly  to  where 
it  was. 

She  did  not  take  her  crutches,  for  fear  she  would 
disturb  her  mother,  who  slept  in  the  same  bed 
with  her.  It  was  hard  for  her  to  move  around 


"SHE  PUT  OUT  HER  THIN  LITTLE  HAND  AND  FELT  IT." 

without  her   crutches,    but    she   r/erse\ered    and 
finally  she  reached  her  stocking. 

She  put  out  her  thin  little  hand  and  felt  it.  Yes7 
there  was  something  in  it !    Then  she  put  her  hand 


210  LITTLE    ANNIE'S    CHRISTMAS. 

inside  and  TOOK  out  something  which  seemed  round 
and  soft.  She  took  it  out  and  looked  at  it.  It 
was  a  little  cake.  Poor  little  Annie  smiled,  and 
put  her  hand  back  into  the  stocking.  This  time 
she  found  something  which  was  done  up  in  paper. 
She  opened  the  paper  and  found  a  whole  dozen  of 
gumdrops.  How  brightly  her  little  eyes  flashed! 
She  was  only  six  years  old  and  she  had  never  had 
so  much  candy  at  one  time  in  all  her  life. 

By-and-by  her  mother  awoke.  She  raised  her 
head  and  saw  Annie's  happy  face.  "Poor  girl," 
she  thought,  "how  happy  I  would  have  been  to 
have  bought  something  else  for  her,  but  I  wasn't 
able.  I  hope  she  will  be  happy  with  what  she 
has." 

"See,  mother,"  cried  Annie,  "I  have  twelve 
gumdrops  and  a  cake.  We  will  eat  half  of  the 
gumdrops  today  and  save  the  other  half  for  to- 
morrow. You'll  eat  three  and  I  will  eat  three." 

"No,  Annie,"  said  her  mother,  "you  must  eat 
every  one  by  yourself. ' ' 

Annie  smiled,  but  did  not  say  anything. 

Little  Annie's  mother  was  a  widow,  and  she  was 
very,  very  poor;  there  were  many  times  when  they 
had  only  a  little  dry  bread  and  water  for  the  day 's 
food.  For  this  bright  Christmas  season  there  were 
many  things  besides  food  which  she  would  like  to 
have  bought  for  her  poor  little  crippled  child;  but 
she  did  not  have  any  money  to  pay  for  playthings 
or  toys. 

After  breakfast  on  this  Christmas  day  Johnny 


LITTLE    ANNIE'S    CHRISTMAS.  211 

Ray  came  to  see  them.  He  brought  with  him  a 
good  thick  shawl  for  Annie's  mother  and  four 
pairs  of  warm  stockings  which  his  mother  had 
sent  for  Annie,  and,  also,  a  large  package  of  nice 
candy. 

Little  Annie's  mother  cried  for  joy. 

Little  Annie  was  too  happy  to  speak.  She  had 
never  dreamed  of  having  so  much  candy  at  one 
time! 


* 

THE  VELOCIPEDE  RACE. 

One  bright  day  Archibald  mounted  his  veloci- 
pede and  rode  out  into  the  long  green  lane,  where 
he  could  ride  for  a  long  distance  without  interrup- 
tion. He  had  left  his  coat  in  the  house  because  he 
knew  that  riding  would  make  him  very  warm. 

When  he  reached  the  lane  the  velocipede  moved 
along  so  smoothly  that  Archibald  was  very  happy. 
By  the  time  he  had  gone  nearly  a  half  mile  he  was 
tired  and  stopped  for  a  rest. 

Pretty  soon  he  heard  a  noise  coming  from  be- 
hind, and  he  wondered  what  rider  it  might  be  on 
the  same  track  that  beautiful  spring  morning.  He 
looked  up  and  saw  John  Smith  coming,  riding  a 
large  velocipede  and  going  as  fast  as  he  could. 

Archibald  quickly  mounted  his  wheel  and 
started  on  a  swift  run,  trying  to  overtake  the  fly- 


212 


THE   VELOCIPEDE  RACE. 


,ing  John.  Before  they  reached  the  end  of  the  road 
they  saw  Clara  Hempton,  standing  by  the  fence 
with  her  little  velocipede.  Clara  watched  the  boys 
as  they  flitted  past.  She  thought  that  she  could 
keep  up  with  John,  but  she  was  not  sure  that  she 
could  ride  as  fast  as  Archibald. 


THE  VELOCIPEDE  RACE. 


While  she  was  meditating  Archibald  cried  out: 

"Clara,  you  wait  until  we  finish  this  race,  and 
then  we  three  will  go  back  together. ' ' 

Archibald  reached  the  end  first,  but  John  was 
not  very  far  behind. 

When  Clara  reached  them  Archibald  said: 


THE   VELOCIPEDE  RACE.  213 

"Now  we  will  all  have  a  fair  start  and  see  who 
will  reach  the  other  end  first. " 

So  they  all  started  on  a  line.  Archibald  knew 
that  he  was  the  largest  and  could  go  the  fastest, 
but,  as  he  had  won  the  other  race,  he  did  not  ride 
this  time  as  fast  as  he  could.  He  thought  this 
was.  the  right  way  to  give  the  others  a  fair  chance. 

Clara  and  John  reached  the  other  end  of  the 
lane  at  exactly  the  same  time,  with  Archibald  a 
short  distance  behind  them. 

John  and  Clara  were  greatly  delighted  because 
they  had  won  the  race  from  the  big  boy,  Archi- 
bald. Archibald  was  pleased  because  they  were 
pleased.  This  was  not  the  only  time  that  Archi- 
bald had  proved  that  he  was  a  good  and  kind  boy, 
and  that  he  was  thoughtful  of  little  children 
younger  than  himself. 

From  this  little  story  of  the  velocipede  race 
many  other  little  boys  and  girls  may  learn  a 
good  lesson,  I  hope,  that  will  do  them  good  all 
through  life. 


FAULT-FINDING. 

Faults  are  the  easiest  things  to  find  in  all  this 
world.  A  fault  is  something  that  can  be  found 
without  looking  for  it.  And  I  guess  no  little  boy 
or  girl  in  all  the  world  knows  anything  that  is 


214 


FAULT-FINDING. 


easier  to  find  than  something  that  he  or  she 
doesn't  have  to  look  for.  Well,  faults  are  things 
that  we  can  find  without  looking  for  them;  so 
faults  are  the  easiest  things  to  find  in  all  the 
world.  Yet,  boys  and  girls,  the  habit  of  fault- 
finding, or  the  habit  of  finding  fault,  is  one  of  the 
worst  habits  that  anybody  could  form.  It  stamps 
the  person  who  is  so  easy  to  find  fault  with  every- 
thing and  everybody  as  be- 
ing a  mean,  low,  envious, 
evil-hearted  person.  It  is 
better  to  look  for  some- 
thing to  praise,  than  it  is 
to  look  for  something  to 
blame.  Yet  there  are 
some  people  who  are  so 
constituted  that  they  do 
not  see  any  good*  in  any- 
thing. When  it  is  cold,  it 
is  too  cold.  When  it  i« 
hot,  it  is  too  hot.  Thev 
don't  like  "vici  kid" 
shoes;  they  want  patent 
leathers.  The  singing  at 
church  or  Sunday  school 
last  Sunday  was  just  hor- 
rid. Old  Mary  Jones  ought  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  choir.  The  preacher  preaches  too  long, 
or  the  deacon  prays  too  loud.  The  school 
teacher  isn't  any  good.  So  they  go  on  from 


FAULT  FINDING. 


FAULT-FINDING.  215 

day  to  day,  finding  fault  with  everything1  and 
everybody.  Nothing  pleases  them;  nothing  de- 
lights them.  If  by  any  chance  or  mischance  they 
should  get  to  heaven  they  would,  I  believe,  find 
fault  with  the  way  the  Lord  has  arranged  things 
up  there.  They  are  miserable  people  to  have 
around— these  good-for-nothing,  lazy  and  trifling 
fault-finders.  If  you  try  real  hard,  boys  and  girls, 
you  can  find  something  good  in  everything  and  in 
everybody.  That  is  one  reason  why  we  do  not 
always  see  the  good  in  people  or  things— we 
don't  look  for  it.  We  can  find  out  what  is  bad- 
can  find  out  the  bad  things  without  looking  for 
them,  but  if  we  want  to  see  the  good  things  we 
must  be  on  the  lookout  for  them.  If  we  are  on 
the  lookout— if  we  make  up  our  minds  that  we 
are  going  to  see  the  good,  and  only  the  good,  we 
are  always  sure  to  find  it. 

There  was  an  old  woman  once  who  was  noted  for 
being  able  to  say  something  good  about  every- 
thing and  everybody.  She  was  never  heard  to 
speak  evil  of  anything  or  anybody.  Once  upon  a 
time  a  gambler  died  in  the  city  where  she  lived.  He 
was  a  miserable  sinner,  and  nobody  liked  him  and 
nobody  had  a  good  word  to  say  for  him,  even  after 
he  was  dead.  Aunt  Maria,  the  good  old  lady,  went 
to  see  him  after  he  had  been  put  into  his  coffin. 
The  people  who  were  present  wondered  what  good 
thing  Aunt  Maria  could  possibly  say  about  the 
dead  sinner.  Aunt  Maria  entered  the  room  and 


216  FAULT-FINDING. 

talked  around  on  tiptoe.    After  awhile  she  raised 
her  head  and  said: 

"Friends,  I  tell  you,  he  makes  a  mighty  nice 
looking  corpse/' 

GROSS  DECEPTION. 

Wistfully  down  the  street  she  strolled, 
From  side  to  side  her  eyes  she  rolled, 
Till  far  away  her  eyes  she  cast 
On  the  grateful  form  of  a  man  at  last. 

She  smoothed  her  hair  and  she  quickened  her  pace, 
Hoping  she  'd  meet  him  face  to  face ; 
But  when  she  reached  him  she  felt  awful  sore : 
'Twas  a  figure  of  wax  in  front  of  a  store ! 


EANDOM  REMARKS. 

In  the  olden  times  parents  used  to  rule  their 
children,  but  in  these  days  and  times  there  are 
many  people  who  believe  that  the  children  rule 
their  parents.  So  many  misguided  parents  in  these 
days  and  times  believe  in  sparing  the  rod  and 
spoiling  the  child.  Boys  don't  get  many  whippings 
at  home  nowadays,  and  if  a  boy  happens  to  get  a 
good  flogging  at  school  it  will  cause  a  big  row, 
and  sometimes  cause  the  teacher  to  be  threatened 
with  "arrest.  Whenever  my  teacher  used  to  whip 
me  I  was  always  afraid  to  mention  it  at  home  for 
fear  of  getting  another.  I  heard  a  man  say  the 
other  day:  " Never  whip  a  child;  raise  your  boy 


RANDOM  REMARKS. 


217 


on  love  and  kindness  and  reason ! ' '  Yes ;  and  when 
that  boy  is  twelve  or  thirteen  years  old  somebody 
will  have  to  go  to  him  and  talk  to  him  and  try  to 
persuade  him  not  to  whip  his  father  or  mother. 


I  JUST  WISH  I  COULD  HAVE  MY  WAY  WITH  THOSE  BOYS  FOB 
ABOUT  Two  MINUTES. 

I  was  at  church  the  other  day  and  I  saw  two 
boys  about  ten  or  eleven  years  old.  After  service 
they  lit  their  cigarettes  and  went  marching  off 


218  RANDOM  REMARKS. 

as  big  as  Trip.  A  man  of  the  old  school  looked  at 
them  for  awhile,  and  then,  turning  away,  he  said: 

"I  just  wish  I  could  have  my  way  with  those 
boys  for  about  two  minutes/' 

I  didn't  say  anything,  but  deep  down  in  my 
heart  I  sympathized  with  the  old  man,  and  felt 
that  both  of  the  youngsters  ought  to  have  had 
a  good  whipping. 

Some  girls  are  almost  as  bad  as  some  boys. 
Girls  are  most  too  fast  in  these  days.  As  soon 
as  they  get  their  dresses  to  their  shoetops  they  are 
gone.  They  go  crazy  over  their  clothes,  for  they 
think  that  they  must  keep  in  the  fashion.  They 
read  too  much  trash,  for  they  think  that  is  the  way 
refined  and  cultured  people  do.  Old-fashioned 
modesty  is  at  a  discount.  The  girls  don't  wait 
for  the  boys  to  come  now— that  is,  many  of  them 
don't;  they  go  after  them.  I  have  seen  some  girls 
running  around  in  these  new-fashioned  night 
gowns,  and  they  call  it  a  Mother  Hubbard  party. 
If  their  mothers  don't  allow  them  to  go  with  the 
boys  they  will  slip  around  and  meet  them  some- 
where anyhow.  And  where  they  are  allowed  to 
go  with  the  boys  they  generally  go  to  extremes. 
What  business  has  a  little  girl— ten  or  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  old— to  be  locked-arms  with  a  lit- 
tle stripling  of  a  boy,  going  home  at  night  from 
church  or  some  social  entertainment.  It  always 
disgusts  me  whenever  I  see  it.  Worse  than  a 
mannish  boy  is  a  womanish  girl.  What  busi- 
ness has  a  little  girl,  or  a  larger  one,  to  allow 


RANDOM  REMARKS.  219 

a  man  to  throw  his  arm  around  her  waist  in  the 
round  dance  1  It  is  immodest,  to  say  the  least,  and 
there  is  not  a  good  mother  in  the  land  who  ap- 
proves it.  A  girl  who  goes  to  a  promiscuous 
ball  and  waltzes  around  with  promiscuous  fellows 
puts  herself  in  a  promiscuous  fix  to  be  talked 
about  by  the  dudes  and  rakes  and  fast  young  fel- 
lows who  have  encircled  her  waist.  Slander  is 
very  common,  I  know,  especially  slander  of  young 
ladies;  there  are  not  many  young  ladies  who 
escape  it;  but  the  trouble  about  it  is  that  it  is  not 
all  slander— some  of  it  is  the  truth. 

In  the  olden  times  when  folks  got  married  they 
stayed  married,  but  nowadays  the  courts  are  full 
of  divorce  cases.  The  land  is  spotted  with  what 
are  called  ' i  grass  widows, ' '  and  in  many  a  house- 
hold there  is  hidden  grief  over  a  daughter's  shame. 
Why  is  it  1  What  causes  it  f  Lack  of  proper  train- 
ing and  care  of  the  young.  Habits  are  great  things 
—good  habits  or  bad  habits.  If  girls  are  reared 
to  clean  their  teeth  and  keep  their  fingernails 
clean  they  will  keep  them  clean  all  their  lives.  If 
boys  are  reared  to  chew  tobacco  and  smoke  they 
will  never  quit.  The  same  about  loving  and  court- 
ing and  getting  married.  Much  depends  upon 
training,  upon  habits.  Young  flirts  make  old  flirts. 
Young  devils  make  old  devils! 


BENJAMIN  BANNEKER,  THE  NEGRO 
ASTRONOMER. 

The  little  colored  boys  and  girls  of  America 
should  be  proud  to  know,  as  I  suppose  the  little 
white  boys  and  girls  will  be  surprised  to  learn, 
that  the  first  clock  of  which  every  portion  was 
made  in  America  was  made  by  a  colored  man. 

The  colored  children  will  also  be  glad  to  know, 
I  think,  that  among  the  earliest  almanacs  pre- 
pared for  general  use  in  this  country  were  those 
which  were  published  for  several  years  by  this 
same  colored  man.  His  name  was  Benjamin  Ban- 
neker.  I  have  found  a  good  and  true  account  of 
this  wonderful  man  in  The  Atlantic  Monthly  for 
January,  1863.  I  am  going  to  give  a  good  portion 
of  that  account  in  this  book,  because  I  believe 
every  colored  person  in  America  should  be  ac- 
quainted with  that  man's  history.  The  account 
says: 

".Benjamin  Banneker  was  born  in  Baltimore 
County,  Maryland,  near  the  village  of  Ellicott'c 
Mills,  in  the  year  1732.  There  was  not  a  drop  of 
white  man's  blood  in  his  veins.  His  father  was 
born  in  Africa,  and  his  mother's  parents  were 
both  natives  of  Africa.  What  genius  he  had,  then, 
must  be  credited  to  that  race.  When  he  was  ap- 
proaching manhood  he  went,  in  the  intervals  of 

220 


THE    NEGRO    ASTRONOMER.  221 

toil,  to  an  obscure  and  remote  country  school. 
At  this  school  Benjamin  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
reading  and  writing,  and  advanced  in  arithmetic 
as  far  as  '  Double  position./  Beyond  these  rudi- 
ments he  was  his  own  teacher.  Young  Banneker 
had  no  books  at  all,  but  in  the  midst  of  labor  for 
a  living  he  so  improved  upon  what  he  had  gained 
in  arithmetic  that  his  intelligence  became  a  mat- 
ter of  general  observation.  He  was  such  an  acute 
observer  of  the  natural  world  and  had  so  dili- 
gently observed  the  signs  of  the  times  in  society 
that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  at  forty  years  of 
age  this  African  had  his  superior  in  Maryland. 

"  Perhaps  the  first  wonder  amongst  his  com- 
paratively illiterate  neighbors  was  excited,  when, 
about  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age,  Benjamin  made 
a  clock.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  the  first  clock 
of  which  every  portion  was  made  in  America ;  it  is 
certain  that  it  was  purely  his  own  invention  as  if 
none  had  ever  been  made  before.  He  had  sjen  a 
watch,  but  never  a  clock,  such  an  article  not  being 
within  fifty  miles  of  him.  He  used  the  watch  as  a 
model  for  his  clock.  He  was  a  long  time  at  work 
on  the  clock,— his  chief  difficulty,  as  he  used  often 
to  relate,  being  to  make  the  hour,  minute,  and 
second  hands  correspond  in  their  motion.  But  at 
last  the  work  was  completed,  and  raised  the 
admiration  for  Banneker  to  quite  a  high  pitch 
among  his  few  neighbors. 

"'The  making  of  the  clock  proved  to  be  of  great 
importance  in  assisting  the  young  man  to  fulfill 


222  THE    NEGRO    ASTRONOMER. 

his  destiny.  It  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Elli- 
cott  family,  who  had  just  begun  a  settlement  at 
Ellicott  7s  Mills.  They  were  well-educated  men, 
with  much  mechanical  knowledge,  and  some  of 
them  Quakers.  They  sought  out  the  ingenious 
negro,  and  he  could  not  have  fallen  into  better 
hands.  In  1787  Mr.  George  Ellicott  gave  him 
Mayer's  " Tables, "  Ferguson 9s  "Astronomy," 
and  Leadbetter's  "Lunar  Tables."  From  this 
time  astronomy  became  the  great  object  of  Ban- 
neker's  life,  and  in  its  study  he  almost  disappeared 
from  the  sight  of  his  neighbors.  He  slept  much 
during  the  day,  that  he  might  the  more  devotedly 
observe  at  night  the  heavenly  bodies  whose  laws 
he  was  slowly,  but  surely,  mastering. 

"Very  soon  after  the  possession  of  the  books 
already  mentioned,  Banneker  determined  to  com- 
pile an  almanac,  that  being  the  most  familiar  use 
that  occurred  to  him  of  the  information  he  had 
acquired.  To  make  an  almanac  then  was  a  very 
different  thing  from  what  it  would  be  now,  when 
there  is  an  abundance  of  accurate  tables  and  rules. 
Banneker  had  no  aid  whatever  from  men  or  rules ; 
and  Mr.  George  Ellicott,  who  procured  some  tables 
and  took  them  to  him,  states  that  he  had  already 
advanced  very  far  in  the  preparation  of  the 
logarithms  necessary  for  the  purpose. 
^"  Pie  first  almanac  prepared  by  Banneker  for 
publication  was  for  the  year  1792.  By  this  time 
^^-acquirements  had  become  generally  known, 
those  who  were  attracted  by  them  was 


THE    NEGRO    ASTRONOMER.  22^ 

Mr.  James  McHenry.  Mr.  McHenry  wrote  to  God- 
dard  and  Angell,  then  the  almanac-publishers  of 
Baltimore,  and  procured  the  publication  of  this 
work,  which  contained  from  the  pen  t  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Henry, a  brief  notice  of  Banneker.  When  his  first 
almanac  was  published,  Banneker  was  fifty-nine 
years  old,  and  had  received  tokens  of  respect  from 
all  the  scientific  men  of  the  country.  Among 
others,  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  Secretary  of  State 
under  George  Washington,  wrote  him  a  most  flat- 
tering and  complimentary  letter.  In  his  letter  Jef- 
ferson said,  '  Nobody  wishes  more  than  I  do  to  see 
such  proofs  as  you  exhibit,  that  Nature  has  given 
to  our  black  brethren  talents  equal  to  those  of 
other  colors  of  men,  and  that  the  appearance  of  a 
want  of  them  is  owing  only  to  the  degraded  condi- 
tion of  their  existence  both  in  Africa  and  America/ 

"Banneker  continued  to  calculate  and  publish 
almanacs  until  1802. 

"Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Ellicott,  who  was  a  true 
friend  of  Banneker,  and  collected  from  various 
sources  all  the  facts  concerning  him,  wrote  in  a  let- 
ter as  follows:  'During  the  whole  of  his  long  life 
he  lived  respectably  and  much  esteemed  by  all 
who  became  acquainted  with  him,  but  more  espe- 
cially by  those  who  could  fully  appreciate  his 
genius  and  the  extent  of  his  acquirements.' 

"  Banneker 's  head  was  covered  with  a  thick 
mass  of  white  hair,  which  gave  him  a  very  digni- 
fied and  venerable  appearance.  His  dress  was  in- 
variably of  superfine  drab  broadcloth,  made  in 


224  THE    NEGRO    ASTRONOMER. 

the  old  style  of  a  plain  coat,  with  straight  collar 
and  long  waistcoat,  and  a  broad-brimmed  hat. 
His  color  was  not  jet  black,  but  decidedly  negro. 
In  size  and  personal  appearance,  the  statue  of 
Franklin  at  the  library  in  Philadelphia,  as  seen 
from  the  street,  is  a  perfect  likeness  of  him. 
•  "Banneker  died  in  the  year  1804,  beloved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  Though  no  monu- 
ment marks  the  spot  where  he  was  born  and  lived 
a  true  and  high  life,  and  was  buried,  yet  history 
must  record  that  the  most  original  scientific  intel- 
lect which  the  South  has  yet  produced  was  that  of 
the  pure  African,  Benjamin  Banneker." 

The  above  is  the  story  of  that  wonderful  black 
man  told  in  splendid  terms  of  high  and  well-de- 
served praise  by  a  white  man.  Every  little  black 
boy  in  America  may  well  be  fired  with  inspiration 
to  do  something  beyond  the  ordinary  by  reading 
the  story  of  Banneker's  life. 


"A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM." 

It  is  truly  astonishing  what  a  boy  can  do  when 
once  he  has  made  up  his  mind  to  do  his  best.  Dr. 
Len.  G.  Broughton,  the  famous  pastor  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle Baptist  church,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  a  little 
book,  which  he  calls  "The  Modern  Prodigal,"  has 
told  a  very  pathetic  story  about  a  little  boy.  It  is 


1 '  A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM. ' '   225 

so  true  to  life,  and  so  typical  of  what  a  black  or 
white  boy  may  do  under  similar  circumstances,  if 
he  only  decides  for  the  true  and  the  right,  that  I 
have  decided  to  reproduce  the  little  story  in  this 
book.  It  is  well  worth  reading.  Dr.  Broughton 
says: 

"Not  long  after  I  entered  the  ministry,  I  went 
to  a  certain  town  to  hold  a  series  of  meetings.  It 
was  one  of  these  good  old  Southern  towns,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  banked  on  aristocracy  and  fed 
their  souls  upon  the  glory  of  departed  days.  They 
had  never  known  what  it  was  to  be  spiritually 
warm.  The  first  night  I  was  there  I  preached  to  a 
great  audience.  It  was  in  my  early  ministry,  when 
I  made  many  propositions.  The  first  one  I  made 
that  night  was  for  any  one  to  stand  who  wanted 
prayers  offered  for  their  friends.  As  soon  as  I 
made  it  a  little  boy  got  up  and  walked  out  in  the 
aisle,  where  he  stood  looking  me  square  in  the  face. 
I  said,  'God  bless  you,  little  man,'  and  he  sat  down. 
I  then  asked  any  one  who  wanted  the  prayers  of 
God  's  people  to  rise.  That  boy  got  out  in  the  aisle 
again  and  looked  me  in  the  face,  and  again  I  said, 
'God  bless  you.'  I  asked  if  there  was  anybody 
present  who  was  willing  to  accept  Jesus.  That 
boy  stood  up  again  and  looked  me  in  the  face,  and 
again  I  said,  'God  bless  you.'  Nobody  else  stood 
up  that  night,  and  I  began  to  think  I  had  struck 
about  the  hardest  and  coldest  crowd  I  had  ever 
run  up  against. 

"The  next  night  I  preached  as  hard  as  I  knew 


226    "  A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM. ' » 

how  to  sinners,  and  when  I  finished,  I  asked  any- 
body who  wanted  to  be  prayed  for  to  stand  up. 
The  same  little  rascal  popped  out  into  the  aisle,  as 
he  had  done  the  night  before,  and  stood  looking  at 
me  until  I  saw  him  and  said,  'God  bless  you.'  I 
thought  I'd  vary  the  thing  a  little,  so  I  asked  if 
anybody  present  was  willing  to  come  forward  and 
give  me  his  hand  as  an  indication  that  he  would 
accept  Jesus.  That  same  boy  came  shuffling  out  of 
his  seat,  straight  down  the  aisle  and  gave  me  his 
hand.  I  saw  smiles  on  the  faces  of  some  in  the 
congregation.  Nobody  but  the  boy  showed  any 
interest,  and  I  went  off  somewhat  disheartened. 
The  third  night  I  preached,  and  when  I  asked  all 
who  wanted  prayer  to  rise,  that  boy  popped  out 
into  the  aisle.  The  people  had  begun  to  regard  it 
as  a  joke,  and  they  nudged  each  other  with  their 
elbows,  while  a  broad  smile  flared  from  one  side 
of  the  house  to  the  other.  When  I  asked  anybody 
who  was  willing  to  accept  Jesus  to  come  and  give 
me  his  hand,  that  boy  came,  and  the  congregation 
smiled  broader  than  before.  After  the  meeting 
the  deacons  came  to  me  and  told  me  that  the  boy 
must  be  stopped,  as  he  was  a  half-idiot,  and  was 
throwing  a  damper  on  the  meeting.  I  said :  *  Stop 
nothing!  How  are  you  going  to  throw  a  damper  on 
an  ice-house?' 

For  the  whole  of  that  week  that  boy  was  the 
only  person  in  the  house  who  showed  any  inter- 
est in  the  meeting.  Then  he  wanted  to  join  the 
church.  The  pastor  was  absent,  and  I  was  to  open 


"A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM."  227 

the  doors  of  the  church.  The  deacons  came  to  me 
and  said  I  must  not  receive  that  boy,  as  he  didn't 
have  sense  enough  to  join  the  church.  I  said: 
4 Look  here,  brethren,  I  won't  take  this  respon- 
sibility on  my  hands.  I'm  going  to  put  that  boy 
on  you,  and  if  you  choose  to  reject  him,  his  blood 
be  upon  your  hands.'  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
morning  service,  I  invited  all  who  wanted  to  unite 
with  the  church  to  come  forward.  That  boy  came. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  accepted  Christ  for  his  per- 
sonal Saviour.  That's  all  I  ever  ask.  He  said  he 
had.  ' Brethren,'  I  said,  'you  hear  what  this  boy 
has  to  say.  What  will  you  do  with  him!'  An 
ominous -silence  fell  on  the  congregation.  After  a 
time,  from  'way  back  by  the  door,  I  heard  a  muf- 
fled and  rather  surly,  'I  move  he  be  received.' 
Another  painful  silence  followed,  and  then,  from 
the  middle  of  the  church,  I  heard  a  muffled,  'I 
second  the  motion. '  When  I  put  the  motion,  about 
a  half  dozen  members  voted  'aye'  in  a  tone  so  low 
that  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  scared.  I  gave  the 
boy  the  right  hand  of  Christian  welcome  awaiting 
baptism,  and  then  dismissed  the  congregation. 

"The  next  day  the  boy  went  out  to  see  his  old 
grandfather,  a  man  whose  whitened  head  was  blos- 
soming for  the  grave,  and  whose  feet  were  taking 
hold  upon  the  shifting  sands  of  eternity.  *  Grand- 
father,' said  he,  'won't  you  go  to  church  with  me 
to-night  and  hear  that  preacher?'  We  always  feel 
kindly  towards  those  who  are  afflicted,  you  know, 


228    "A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM. ' ' 

and  are  willing  to  please  them;  so  the  old  man 
agreed  to  go. 

"That  night  I  saw  the  boy  and  the  old  man  sit- 
ting away  back  by  the  door.  "When  the  sermon 
was  finished,  one  of  the  members  of  the  church 
arose  and  said:  'I  have  a  request  to  make.  We 
have  with  us  tonight,  Mr.  Blank,  one  of  our  oldest 
and  most  respected  citizens,  but  he  is  out  of  Christ. 
I  want  special  prayer  offered  for  this  my  special 
friend. '  With  that  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the  head 
of  the  old  man,  down  whose  furrowed  cheeks  the 
tears  were  streaming.  The  next  night  I  saw  the 
old  man  sitting  about  half-way  down  the  aisle. 
When  all  who  wanted  to  accept  Jesus  were  invited 
to  come  forward  and  give  me  their  hands,  I  saw 
the  half-idiot  boy  coming  down  the  aisle  leading 
the  old  man  by  the  hand. 

"That  little  boy's  father  kept  a  saloon.  The 
following  day  the  child  went  there,  and  climbing 
up  over  the  high  counter,  he  peeped  down  upon  his 
father  and  said:  'Papa,  won't  you  go  to  church 
with  me  to-night  to  hear  that  preacher?'  'You 
get  out  of  here,  child,'  said  the  father;  'go  out  of 
here;  don't  you  know  you  mustn't  come  in  here?' 
Strange,  strange,  how  fathers  will  keep  places 
where  their  children  cannot  go!  'But,  papa,'  con- 
tinued the  boy,  'won't  you  go  to  church  with  me 
to-night?'  'Yes;  I'll  go,  but  you  get  out  of  here.' 

"That  night  the  man  came  with  the  half-idiot 
boy,  and  sat  about  where  the  old  man  had  sat  the 
night  before.  When  I  asked  all  who  would  accept 


"A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM."    229 

Jesus  to  come  forward,  he  walked  down  the  aisle 
and  gave  me  his  hand.  He  asked  if  he  could  make 
a  statement,  and  when  I  said  'Yes,'  he  faced  the 
congregation  and  said:  'My  friends,  you  all 
know  me,  and  I  want  to  say  that  so  long  as  I  live 
I  will  never  sell  another  drop  of  whiskey,  for  I 
have  given  my  heart  to  God  to-night,  and  from 
this  day  forward  I  propose  to  serve  him.' 

"The  meeting  warmed  up  at  last,  the  town  was 
set  on  fire  for  God.  Every  salopn  keeper  was  con- 
verted and  every  saloon  was  closed.  The  feeling 
spread  and  a  saloon  seven  miles  in  the  country  was 
closed  and  the  keeper  was  converted  to  God. 

"At  the  close  of  the  meeting  I  sat  on  the  front 
seat  and  saw  the  pastor  lead  three  generations 
into  the  baptismal  waters,  the  old  man  in  front, 
his  son  behind  him,  and  last  in  line  the  little  half- 
idiot  boy.  The  only  mistake  that  was  made,  to  my 
mind,  was  that  the  boy  who  had  led  the  others  to 
Christ  should  not  have  been  first  in  line.  Where 
is  the  little  half-idiot  boy  now?  He  has  grown 
much  brighter  within  the  last  few  years,  and  is 
now  going  to  school.  He  says  he  wants  to  be  and 
will  fee  a  missionary. 

"What  a  lesson  for  the  young  to-day.  Per- 
sistent self-surrender,  ever  doing  the  best  we  can, 
is  a  never  failing  way  that  leads  to  victory." 


DIEECTIONS  FOE  LITTLE  LADIES. 

1.  A  little  lady  always  says,  "I  thank  you" 
whenever  anybody  assists  her  in  any  way,  and 
always  says,  "If  you  please,"  whenever  she  makes 
any  kind  of  request. 

2.  A  little  lady  is  never  loud  and  boisterous  on 
the  streets,  in  public  places,  or  at  home.    Some- 
times girls  are   so   rough  that  they  are  called 
' i  Tom-Boys. ' '    No  Tom-Boy  ever  was  a  true  little 
lady. 

3.  A  true  little  lady  will  always  see  that  her 
linen   is   clean   and  spotless  —collars   and   cuffs, 
aprons  and  dresses,  handkerchiefs,  and  all  articles 
of  clothing.    Every  true  little  lady  hates  dirt. 

4.  A  little  lady  will  not  be  guilty  of  idle  gossip. 
She  will  not  tattle;  will  not  go  around  hunting  all 
the  evil  things  that  ar.e  said  or  known  about  other 
little  ladies.    She  closes  her  ears  tight  against  the 
slanderers  of  the  town. 

5.  A  little  lady  will  love  the  Sunday-school  and 
the  church.     She  will  love  the  society  of  good 
people  and  the  society  of  good  books.     She  will 
have  higher  notions  of  life  than  that  life  is  some- 
thing to  be  spent  in  a  merry  round  of  pleasure. 

6.  A  true  little  lady  loves  her  mother,  and  she 
will  show  that  she  loves  her  mother  in  various 
ways.    She  will  help  her  about  the  housework, 

230 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  LITTLE  LADIES.        231 

She  will  be  fond  of  going  out  in  company  with  her 
mother  often.  She  will  not  think  that  anybody 
else's  mother  is  or  can  be  better  than  her  own 
mother. 


DIRECTIONS  FOB  LITTLE  GIRLS. 


7.    Every  true  little  lady  will  be  a  Christian. 
She  will  early  give  herself  to  JesuSc    She  will  de 


232         DIRECTIONS  FOE  LITTLE  LADIES. 

light  to  help  the  poor;  to  visit  the  sick,  carrying 
the  cheer  and  comfort  and  something  good  to  eat 
and  flowers  and  many  other  things.  She  will  love 
everybody.  Do  you? 


THEEE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

The  first  word  is,  Be  true.  The  second  word  is, 
Be  trustworthy.  The  third  word  is,  Dare  to  do 
right. 

First:  Be  true!  Be  what  you  seem  to  be  or 
what  you  pretend  to  be;  do  not  be  a  hypocrite; 
be  firm  and  steady  in  adhering  to  friends, 
promises  or  principles.  Be  a  true  boy;  be  a  true 
girl. 

Secondly:  Be  trustworthy!  Be  worthy  of  trust; 
be  reliable ;  make  your  word  your  bond.  Conduct 
yourself  in  such  a  way  that  people  can  depend  on 
you. 

Thirdly:  Dare  to  do  right!  Whatever  comes 
or  doesn't  come,  stand  by  what  you  believe  to  be 
right,  even  if  you  have  to  stand  alone.  Be  honest, 
upright,  faithful,  sincere,  abhor  that  which  is  evil, 
cleave  to  that  which  is  good. 

True  boys  and  girls  are  scarce ;  they  are  not 
easily  found;  they  do  not  grow  on  trees.  But,  to 
tell  you  the  truth,  we  need  good  boys  and  girls, 
true  boys  and  girls,  much  more  than  we  do  edu- 


THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE.      233 

cated  boys  and  girls.  All  education  without  char- 
acter is  a  dead  weight ! 

Let  me  give  you  one  or  two  reasons  why  you 
should  be  true,  trustworthy,  and  brave  for  the 
right.  In  the  first  place,  for  the  sake  of  your  influ- 
ence. Every  boy  and  girl  in  this  world  has  some 
influence.  Every  boy  in  this  world,  white  or 
black,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  is  helping  his 
friends  and  playmates  to  grow  better  or  worse, 
higher  or  lower  in  the  scale  of  being.  Every  girl 
in  this  world  is  likewise  helping  or  hindering 
others.  If  we  are  harsh  and  unkind,  cruel  and 
unjust— in  every  wrong,  every  baseness,  mean- 
ness, selfishness,  we  are  harming  not  ourselves 
alone  but  the  whole  great  family  of  man.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  we  speak  fearlessly  a  brave,  true 
word,  when  we  perform  cheerfully  a  hard  and  try- 
ing task,  whenever  we  are  faithful,  honest,  ear- 
nest, patient,  pure,  trustworthy,  whether  we  know 
it  or  not,  we  are  strengthening  the  unseen  im- 
pulses which  make  for  nobility  and  higher  man- 
hood and  womanhood  throughout  the  world.  In 
the  economy  of  God,  by  his  infinite  wisdom,  the 
humblest  life  reaches  forward  to  the  highest  and 
the  highest  life  reaches  backward  to  the  lowest. 

But  perhaps  you  are  saying  that  I  am  taking 
too  much  for  granted.  Perhaps  you  think  that  it 
is  not  true  that  there  is  not  one  of  the  very  least  of 
the  great  human  family  who  is  not  every  day  exer- 
cising some  personal  influence  for  good  or  evil 
upon  the  world.  If  you  think  so,  boys  and  girls, 


234      THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

or  older  people,  you  are  mistaken.  No  human 
being  can  escape  from  the  world's  atmosphere. 
Though  you  fly  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea 
or  hide  in  the  depths  of  the  dense  city,  some  life  is 
affected  by  your  life.  Not  only  some  life  is 
affected  by  your  life,  but  many  lives  are  affected 
by  your  life.  It  is  a  thought  of  this  kind  that 
Charles  Dickens  beautifully  expresses  in  his  story 
called  " David  Copperfield."  He  says: 

"  There  is  nothing— no,  nothing— beautiful  and 
good  that  dies  and  is  forgotten.  An  infant,  a 
prattling  child,  dying  in  his  cradle,  will  live  again 
in  the  better  thoughts  of  those  who  loved  it,  and 
plays  its  part,  though  its  body  be  burned  to  ashes 
or  drowned  in  the  deepest  sea.  There  is  not  an 
angel  added  to  the  hosts  of  heaven  but  does  its 
blessed  work  on  earth  in  those  who  loved  it  here. 
Dead!  Oh,  if  the  good  deeds  of  human  creatures 
could  be  traced  to  their  source,  how  beautiful 
would  even  death  appear.  For  how  much  charity, 
mercy,  and  purified  affection  would  be  seen  to 
have  their  growth  in  dusty  graves!" 

No,  children,  it  is  no  idle  dream,  no  fancy  story 
that  I  tell  when  I  say  that  the  humblest  member 
of  the  human  family,  as  well  as  the  highest,  is 
exercising  daily,  whether  he  is  conscious  of  it  or 
not,  some  influence  for  good  or  evil  upon  the 
world.  Viewed  in  this  light  who  can  measure  the 
possibilities— the  divine  possibilities— that  are 
wrapped  up  in  little  boys  and  girls?  Viewed  in 
this  light,  bow  the  slightest  action,  the  smallest  of 


THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE.     235 

our  little  duties,  takes  on  new  importance!  It  was 
with  this  thought  in  mind  that  James  A.  Garfield 
said:  "I  feel  a  profounder  reverence  for  a  boy 
than  a  man.  I  never  meet  a  ragged  boy  on  the 
street  without  feeling  that  I  owe  him  a  salute,  for 
I  know  not  what  possibilities  may  be  buttoned  up 
under  his  shabby  coat.'7  Yes,  boys  and  girls,  by 
every  brave  and  cheerful  effort  that  we  put  forth 
we  are  reforming,  uplifting,  renewing,  inspir- 
ing, hearts  and  souls  we  never  heard  of,  never 
knew,  the  whole  world  becoming  stronger  for 
every  bit  of  moral  courage  we  create,  sweeter  for 
every  kindly  look  we  give,  and  holier  for  every 
good  deed  we  do.  And,  of  course,  the  contrary  is 
true.  When  we  fail,  when  we  come  short,  when 
we  sin,  the  consequences  are  not  ours  alone— they 
extend  to  all  humanity.  We  are  all,  white  and 
black,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  male  and 
female,  children  of  one  family.  Just  as  the  quiv- 
ering circles  from  a  pebble  thrown  into  a  lake 
stretch  on  and  on  from  shore  to  shore,  so  the  silent 
impulse  of  a  single  life  thrills  from  heart  to  heart 
until  the  very  edges  of  humanity  are  touched.. 

There  is  another  reason  still  why  we  should  be 
true,  trustworthy,  brave.  That  reason  is  that 
somebody  else  takes  us  as  his  ideal— his  standard. 
Poor  as  we  are,  weak  as  we  are,  as  unworthy  as 
we  are,  somebody  else  is  looking  up  to  us— espe- 
cially  those  of  us  who  have  been  favored  with 
educational  advantages  and  opportunities.  And 
you  know  that  the  failure  of  one  who  is  invested 


236   THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

in  another's  mind  with  ideal  qualities  is  a  failure 
beyond  the  actual.  That  is  one  reason 'why  people 
say  that,  as  a  rule,  a  preacher's  children  are  the 
worst  children  in  the  world.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  are  not  the  worst  children  in  the  world;  but, 
being  the  children  of  preachers,  everybody  expects 
more  of  them  than  of  others,— they  are  taken  as 
ideals,  as  standards— that's  all.  And  what  might 
be  excused  in  others  will  not  be  excused  in  one  who 
is  taken  as  an  ideal.  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  one  of 
America's  greatest  writers,  in  speaking  of  this 
truth  says  in  his  story  called  ' '  The  Marble  Faun : ' ' 
"The  character  of  an  individual  beloved  one 
having  invested  itself  with  all  the  attributes  of 
right— that  one  friend  being  to  us  the  symbol  and 
representative  of  whatever  is  good  and  true,— 
when  he  falls,  the  effect  is  almost  as  if  the  sky  fell 
with  him,  bringing  down  in  chaotic  ruin  the 
columns  that  upheld  our  faith.  We  struggle  forth 
again,  no  doubt  bruised  and  bewildered.  We  stare 
wildly  about  us,  and  discover— or  it  may  be  we 
never  make  the  discovery— that  it  was  not  actu- 
ally the  sky  that  has  tumbled  down  but  merely  a 
frail  structure  of  our  own  rearing,  which  never 
rose  higher  than  the  housetops,  and  has  fallen 
because  we  founded  it  on  nothing.  But  .the  crash, 
and  the  affright  and  trouble  are  as  overwhelming, 
for  the  time,  as  if  the  catastrophe  involved  the 
whole  moral  world.  Remembering  these  things, 
let  them  suggest  one  generous  motive  for  walking 
heedfully  amid  the  defilement  of  earthly  ways.  Let 


THREE  WORDS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE.      237 

us  reflect  that  the  highest  path  is  pointed  out  by 
the  pure  ideal  of  those  who  look  up  to  us,  and  who, 
if  we  tread  less  loftily,  may  never  look  so  high 
again. ' ' 

Now,  I  have  said  my  three  words.  You  see  they 
have  stretched  themselves  out  to  a  great  length, 
but  I  hope  the  boys  and  girls  who  read  this  book 
may  profit  by  them.  Strive  to  be  true,  strive  to  be 
trustworthy,  strive  to  be  brave.  In  the  long  run 
the  prizes  of  this  world,  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come,  are  won  by  boys  and  girls  of  strong  moral 
character,  not  by  those  who  are  merely  learned  or 
rich.  But,  of  course,  I  believe  in  education  and  I 
believe  in  money.  I  think  you  ought  to  strive  to 
obtain  both— both  are  useful,  and  both  are  neces- 
sary; but,  with  all  your  getting,  boys  and  girls,  be 
sure  to  get  those  things  which  will  reach  beyond 
this  world  and  which  will  count  for  more  than 
money  or  good  looks  or  education  or  any  such 
thing  when  the  world  is  on  fire,  when  the  moon 
shall  be  turned  into  blood,  when  the  trumpet 
sounds,  and  all  must  go  to  stand  before  the  Great 
King  to  give  an  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body. 


"A  LAMP  UNTO  MY  FEET." 

Once  upon  a  time,  so  it  is  said,  a  little  ragged 
boy  was  carefully  printing  these  words  with  a 
stick  upon  the  ground,  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto 
my  feet." 

On  looking  up  from  his  work,  the  little  fellow 
was  surprised  to  find  a  kind-looking  old  man 
watching  him. 

"Where  did  you  learn  that,  my  boy?"  asked 
the  man. 

"At  Sunday-school,  sir." 

"What's  your  name?" 

"Crawford." 

"So,  Crawford,  you  learned  that  text  at  Sun- 
day-school. Do  you  know  what  it  means?" 

"No,  sir." 

"What  is  a  lamp?" 

"A  lamp?  Why,  sir,  a  lamp  is  a  thing  that 
gives  light!" 

"That's  correct.  Well,  what  is  the  word  that 
the  text  speaks  of?" 

"The  Bible,  sir." 

"That's  right.  Now,  how  can  the  Bible  be  a 
lamp  and  give  light?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  the  boy,  "unless  you  light 
it  and  set  it  on  fire. ' ' 

"There's  a  better  way  than  that,  my  lad.    Sup- 

238 


aA    LAMP  UNTO    MY   FEET. 


pose  you  were  going  down  some  lonely  lane  on  a 
dark  night  with  an  unlighted  lantern  in  your 
hand,  and  a  box  of  matches  in  your  pocket,  what 
would  you  do?" 

"Why,  I'd  light  the  lantern." 

"Why  would  you  light 
it?" 

"To  show  me  the  road, 
sir." 

"Yery  well.    Now, 
suppose     you     were 


"A  LAMP  UNTO  MY  FEET.'* 


walking  behind  me  some  day,  and  saw  me  drop  a 

quarter;  what  would  you  do!" 

' '  Pick  it  up  and  give  it  to  you,  sir. ' ' 
"Wouldn't  you  want  to  keep  it  yourself?" 
Crawford  hesitated;  but  he  saw  a  smile  on  the 


240  "A   LAMP  UNTO    MY   FEET." 

old  gentleman's  face,  and,  smiling  himself,  he 
finally  said: 

"I  should  want  to,  sir;  but  I  shouldn't  do  it." 

"Why  not?" 

"Because  it  would  be  stealing. " 

"How  do  you  know?" 

"It  would  be  taking  what  wasn't  my  own,  and 
the  Bible  says  we  are  not  to  steal." 

"Ah!"  said  the  old  man,  "so  it's  the  Bible  that 
makes  you  honest,  is  it?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"If  you  had  not  heard  of  the  Bible  you  would 
steal,  I  suppose?" 

"Lots  of  boys  do,"  said  Crawford,  hanging  his 
head. 

"The  Bible,  then,"  continued  the  old  man, 
"shows  you  the  right  and  safe  path— the  path  of 
honesty,  does  it  ?  " 

"Like  the  lamp!"  exclaimed  Crawford,  seeing 
now  what  all  the  old  man's  questions  meant.  "Is 
that  what  the  text  means?" 

"Yes,  my  boy,"  the  man  answered,  "there  is 
always  light  in  the  Bible  to  show  us  where  to  go 
and  what  to  do.  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  take  the  Bible,  the  good  old  lamp, 
and  let  it  light  you  right  through  life?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

' '  Do  you  think  you  will  be   safer  with  it  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Why?" 


"A    LAMP  UNTO    MY    FEET.** 

"Because  if  I'm  honest  I  will  never  go  to 
prison. ' ' 

"And  what  else?"  asked  the  man. 

Crawford  thought  awhile.    By-and-by  he  said,— 

"  If  I  mind  the  Bible  I  shall  go  to  heaven  when 
I  die." 

"Yes,  and  that's  the  best  reason  for  taking  the 
lamp.  It  will  light  you  right  into  heaven." 


THREE    BRIGADES. 

There  are  three  brigades,  or  three  little  com- 
panies, which  I  think  ought  to  be  organized 
among  the  boys  and  girls  in  every  Sunday-school 
in  America.  Can't  you  form  them  in  your  Sun- 
day-school! It  is  a  very  simple  matter.  It  will 
not  cost  any  money:  only  a  little  time  and  fore- 
thought, and  a  will  to  do.  One  brigade  is  called 
the  Rainy- Weather  Brigade,  and  all  the  little  boys 
and  girls  who  join  this  company  pledge  them- 
selves to  go  to  Sunday-school  every  Sunday,  when 
they  are  not  sick,  even  if  it  is  raining.  The  second 
brigade  is  called  the  Front  Seat  Brigade,  and  all 
the  members  of  this  company  pledge  themselves  to 
occupy  front  seats  in  the  Sunday  school  during 
the  opening  exercises  before  they  pass  to  their 
classes.  The  third  brigade  is  called  the  On-Timers' 
Brigade,  and  the  children  in  this  brigade  pledge 


242  THREE    BRIGADES. 

themselves  to  be  present  on- time  at  the  opening 
hour. 

You  can  see  at  once  how  helpful  these  little 
brigades  are  in  every  Sunday  school  (where  they 
exist)  to  the  officers  and  teachers.  Some  children 


MEMBERS  OP  THE  RAINY- WEATHER  BRIGADE. 

will  not  go  to  Sunday  school  when  it  is  raining  or 
when  it  threatens  to  rain;  some  will  not  go  for- 
ward and  occupy  front  seats  when  they  do  go ;  and 
there  are  others  who  are  always  tardy.  What  a 
blessing  it  would  be  if  all  the  little  children  would 
organize  these  brigades  at  once  in  their  schools, 
and  try  to  get  every  scholar  to  join  each  one  of 
them. 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME." 

Go  with  me,  boys  and  girls,  to  the  gay  streets 
and  gilded  saloons  of  the  great  city  of  Paris  far 
across  the  sea.  Here  is  said  to  be  the  centre  of 
all  the  world's  follies  and  pleasures.  It  is  at  night. 

An  American,  who  has  left  his  home  and  native 
land  to  view  the  splendors  of  the  wicked  city,  is 
passing  along  the  street.  He  has  beheld  with  de- 
light its  paintings,  its  sculpture,  and  the  grand 
and  graceful  proportions  of  its  buildings.  In  the 
midst  of  his  keenest  happiness,  when  he  was  re- 
joicing most  over  the  privileges  which  he  pos- 
sessed, temptation  assailed  him.  Sin  was  present- 
ed to  him  in  one  of  its  most  bewitching  garbs,  and 
he  yielded  to  the  voice  of  the  siren.  He  drank 
wildly  and  deeply  of  the  intoxicating  cup,  and  his 
draught  brought  madness.  Keason  was  overthrown 
and  he  rushed  out,  all  his  scruples  overcome,  care- 
less of  what  he  did  or  how  deeply  he  became  im- 
mersed in  the  hitherto  unknown  sea  of  guilt. 

The  cool  night  air  settled  damp  and  heavy  upon 
his  heated  brow.  Walking  on  and  on,  not  know- 
ing or  caring  where  he  went,  by-and-by  strains  of 
music  from  a  distance  met  his  ear.  Pretty  soon, 
following  in  the  direction  from  which  the  sounds 
came,  he  was  able  to  distinguish  the  words  and  air 
of  the  piece.  The  song  was  well  remembered.  It 

243 


244 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME.1 


was  "Home,  Sweet  Home."  Clear  and  sweet  the 
voice  of  some  singer,  using  his  native  tongue,  rose 
and  fell  on  the  air;  and  the  poor  wild  man  stopped 
and  listened  to  the  soft  cadences  of  that  beloved 
melodv. 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME. 


Motionless  he  stood  until  the  last  note  floated 
away,  and  he  could  hear  nothing  but  the  ceaseless 
murmur  of  the  great  city.  Then  he  turned  away 
slowly,  with  no  feeling  that  his  manhood  was 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME."  245 

shamed  by  the  tear  which  fell  as  a  bright  evidence 
of  the  power  of  song,  and  also  as  an  evidence  that 
he,  the  guilty  sinner,  was  not  yet  absolutely  lost 
beyond  recall. 

The  demon  of  the  wine  cup  had  fled,  and  reason 
once  more  asserted  her  right  to  control.  As  the 
soft  strains  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home"  had  floated 
to  his  ear,  memory  brought  up  before  him  the  pic- 
ture of  his  own  ' '  sweet  home. ' '  He  saw  his  gentle 
mother  and  heard  her  speak,  while  honest  pride 
beamed  from  her  eye;  she  seemed  to  speak  again 
of  her  son,  in  whose  nobleness  and  honor  she  could 
always  trust.  His  heart  smote  him  as  he  thought 
how  little  he  deserved  such  confidence.  He  remem- 
bered her  last  words  of  love  and  counsel,  and  the 
tearful  farewell  of  all  those  dear  ones  who  glad- 
dened that  far-away  home  with  their  presence. 
The  tide  of  remorse  swept  over  his  soul  as  he 
thought  of  what  the  sorrow  of  those  at  home  would 
have  been  could  they  have  seen  him  but  an  hour 
before.  Subdued  and  penitent  he  retraced  his 
steps,  and  with  his  vow  never  to  taste  of  the  terri- 
ble stuff  that  could  so  excite  him  to  madness  there 
was  mingled  a  deep  sense  of  thankfulness  for  his 
escape  from  further  degradation.  The  influence 
of  home  had  protected  and  shielded  him,  although 
the  sea  rolled  between. 

How  strong  such  memories  are  to  prevent  the 
commission  of  crime!  How  powerful  is  the  spell 
of  home !  How  important,  then,  is  it  to  make  home 
pleasant  and  lovable!  Many  a  time  a  cheerful 


246  "HOME,  SWEET  HOME." 

home  and  smiling  face  will  do  more  to  make  good 
men  and  good  women  than  all  the  learning  and  elo- 
quence that  can  be  used.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  sweetest  words  in  our  language  are  "Mother, 
Home  and  Heaven";  and  one  might  almost  say 
that  the  word  "Home"  included  the  others.  Who 
can  think  of  home  without  remembering  the  gen- 
tle mother  who  sanctified  it  by  her  presence!  And 
is  not ' '  Home ' '  the  dearest  name  for  heaven  1  Oh, 
then,  may  our  homes  on  earth  be  as  green  spots  in 
the  desert,  to  which  we  can  retire  when  weary  of 
the  cares  of  life  and  drink  the  clear  waters  of  a 
love  which  we  know  to  be  sincere  and  always  un- 
failing. 


"Mid  pleasures  and  palaces 
Though  far  we  may  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble 
There's  no  place  like  Home." 


i  1 


LITTLE  SOLDIER  BOYS. 

EACH  ONE  OF  US  OF  IMPORTANCE 

Never  think  yourself,  whoever  you  are,  of  small 
importance.  Never  think  that  it  is  of  little  account 
whether  you  are  good  or  bad,  or  what  your  exam- 
ple is  to  others.  Each  mere  particle  of  dust,  every 
tiny  grain  of  sand,  the  minutest  atom,  is  an  active 
agent  in  the  whole  universe.  So  each  one  of  us  is 
of  importance  in  our  sphere,  however  isolated  and 
insignificant  that  sphere  may  appear  to  be. 

A  few  particles  of  dust  in  a  watch  will  stop  its 
motion;  small  barnacles  on  a  ship's  bottom  will 
hinder  its  journey;  and  a  little  shifting  sand  in  the 
great  river  will  change  its  current.  So,  little  boys 
and  girls  exercise  their  influence  for  weal  or  woe 
upon  the  world.  Don't  you  believe  for  once  that 
the  world  is  moved  only  by  the  great  forces,  the 
great  men  and  the  great  enterprises.  Little  folks 
and  little  things  likewise  help  to  move  the  world 
along.  Great  generals  are  necessary;  but  what 
would  they  be  without  the  soldiers  behind  them  ? 

Every  boy  has  his  part  to  do  in  the  great  work 

247 


248 


EACH   OF  US    OP  IMPORTANCE. 


of  the  world,  and  every  girl  has  her  part  to  do. 
Every  boy.  and  girl  is  of  importance ;  how  impor- 
tant nobody  knows,  and  perhaps  never  shall  know 
until  eternity  reveals  it.  There  ought  to  be  in 
this  truth  great  encouragement  and  great  comfort 
to  all  who  think  that  they  are  insignificant  and 
have  no  work  to  do  in  this  busy  world.  Perhaps 
in  the  distant  future  many  a  man  who  estimated 
himself  great  shall  be  found  to  have  been  insignifi- 
cant, because  of  unfaithfulness  to  his  trust;  and 
many  another  man  who  perhaps  thought  himself 
of  little  worth  will  find  himself  glorified  because 
he  did  what  he  could. 


Poetry  is  more  than 
verse-making,  more 
than  the  jingle  of  words, 
more  than  the  sing-song 
of  meter. 

Sunshine  and  flowers, 
brightness  and  joyousness,  the  harmonies  of  the 
passions  and  the  inspiration  of  love — these  are 
the  poetry  of  life. 


THE   POETRY   OF  LIFE.  249 

Without  poetry,  life  is  a  tread-mill;  a  veil  of 
tears ;  a  dreary  waste.  Even  religion  is  only  a  cru- 
cifixion— a  death  to  sin — if  we  have  not  the  resur- 
rection into  the  new  life  of  joy. 

Many  of  us  make  hard  work  of  life  by  bending 
cur  backs  too  much.  We  get  dirt  in  our  eyes  by 
keeping  them  too  near  the  dust,  and  we  get  nar- 
row-minded and  selfish  by  our  narrow  radius  of 
vision. 

To  become  truly  rich  we  must  stand  in  the  dig- 
nity of  our  manhood;  walk  in  the  integrity  of  our 
calling;  and  run  in  the  rhythm  of  a  poetic  nature. 
Out  of  harmony  is  out  of  sphere.  The  dignity,  in- 
tegrity and  poetry  of  life  are  all  lost  by  inhar- 
mony;  only  the  ashes  of  disappointment  are  left; 
but  with  these  we  can  dance  at  our  work,  and  turn 
irksome  duties  into  joyous  privileges.  Instead  of 
moping  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  we 
may  live  in  the  sunshine,  where  beautiful  flowers 
and  luscious  fruits  and  delicious  sweets  grow. 

Yes;  yes;  we  might  as  well  live  in  light  as  in 
darkness;  make  life  a  joyful  song  as  a  funeral 
dirge;  live  amid  glory  as  shame.  With  a  radiant 
countenance,  a  beaming  eye,  and  a  loving  hand,  we 
can  do  more  work  and  have  more  to  do;  we  can 
get  more  out  of  life  and  have  more  life  to  enjoy; 
we  can  scatter  more  sunshine  and  have  more  left 
for  ourselves. 

Christ  came  to  bring  to  every  toiler,  heaven. 
Let  us  get  into  it  quickly.  It  is  here— and  here 
only— that  we  find  the  poetry  of  life. 


ON  BEING  IN  EAKNEST. 

Of  ten  men  who  fail  in  life,  nine  men  fail  for 
want  of  zeal,  earnestness,  courage,  where  one  man 
fails  for  want  of  ability.  This  half-heartedness, 
this  lack  of  zeal,  this  timidity,  this  shrinking  from 
duty  and  hard  tasks  is  seen  on  all  sides  and  among 
all  classes.  But  I  tell  you,  boys  and  girls,  that 
the  least  enviable  people  in  all  the  world  are  those 
who  think  that  nothing  is  particularly  worth 
while,  that  it  does  not  matter  much  how  a  thing 
is  done  if  it  is  only  done  with ;  who  dwaddle  along 
in  a  shabby  sort  of  a  way,  considering  only  their 
own  ease,  with  little  sense  of  responsibility,  and 
with  no  shame  in  being  shirks.  Every  boy  should 
make  up  his  mind  to  live  a  round,  full,  earnest,  in- 
tense life.  Every  girl  should  do  the  same.  Don't 
be  satisfied,  boys  and  girls,  to  be  jellyfishes,  with 
only  a  capacity  for  drawing  in  nourishment  and 
lingering  on  until  your  time  comes  to  die.  Be 
vertebrates,  peojfle  of  backbone,  purpose,  aim,  en- 
thusiasm, earnestness. 

At  a  public  dinner  President  Eoosevelt  asked 
Governor  Odell  of  New  York  if  he  knew  anything 
worth  doing  that  was  not  hard  in  the  doing,  and 
the  governor  could  think  of  nothing.  As  a  rule 
perhaps  there  is  nothing,  and  yet  things  once  hard 
in  the  doing  become  easy  as  skill  is  gained  by  rep- 

250 


ON  BEING  IN  EARNEST. 


251 


etition.    Be  in  earnest,  be  faithful  and  resolute, 

and  it  will  act  like  a  tonic,  giving  light  to  the  eyes, 

springiness  to  the  step,  and  buoyancy  to  the  heart, 

Don't  be  overcome  by  your  circumstances.    No 


matter    how    distracting    a 
man's  surroundings  may  be, 
he  may  yet  be  able  to  focus 
his  powers  completely  and  to 
marshal  them  with  certainty 
if   he    makes    up    his 
mind    to    do    it.      If 
things   go   hard   with 
the  self-mastered  man  or  boy, 
he  will  be  able  to  trample  upon 
difficulties  and  to  use  his  stum- 
bling-blocks as  stepping-stones, 
^ssy  ^  a  &reat  misfortune  overtake 

w  ill'  n^m  ^e  w^  simply  use  it  as  a  starting 
point  for  a  new  departure,  a  turning 
point  for  more  determined  effort.  He 
may  be  weighed  down  with  sorrow 
and  suffering,  but  he  always  starts 
anew  with  redoubled  determination 
to  do  the  thing  he  has  set  his  heart 
upon  doing.  He  will  not  be  discour- 
aged; he  will  not  give  up;  he  will  fight  it  out  to 
the  end.  Put  him  in  prison,  and  he  will  write  the 
"Pilgrim's  Progress."  Deprive  him  of  his  eye- 
sight and  he  will  write  the  "Paradise  Lost." 


BEING  IN 
EARNEST. 


252  ON  BEING  IN  EARNEST. 

It  was  the  spirit  of  earnestness  which  fired  the 
soul  of  Martin  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  who, 
after  being  urged  to  recant,  said:  "Here  I  stand; 
I  can  dp  no  other;  God  help  me!"  It  was  this 
spirit  which  characterized  William  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, the  champion  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  who, 
when  he  was  urged  to  stop  fighting  slavery,  ex- 
claimed: "I  will  not  equivocate,  I  will  not  re- 
tract, I  will  not  be  moved  one  inch,  and  I  will  be 
heard. "  So  be  in  earnest,  boys  and  girls,  at  home, 
at  school,  at  work  and  at  play.  It  will  help  you 
a  thousand-fold. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

Every  little  boy  and  girl,  and,  of  course,  every 
man  and  woman,  of  the  colored  race  in  America 
should  carry  a  life-insurance  policy  of  seme  kind 
in  some  reliable  company.  In  this  matter  the  old 
people,  as  in  some  other  things,  ought  to  set  the 
example  for  the  young,  but  there  are  some  reasons, 
growing  chiefly  out  of  their  previous  condition  of 
slavery,  why  our  mothers  and  fathers  have  not,  as 
a  rule,  taken  very  largely  to  the  business  of  having 
their  lives  insured.  But  because  our  parents  have 
been  negligent  in  this  matter  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  younger  generation  should  be.  Life  insur- 
ance Js  a  good  thing,  boys  and  girls— one  of  the 


YOUNG   PEOPLE    AND   INSURANCE.      253 

best  things  in  the  world.  American  life  insurance 
companies  alone  pay  to  policy-holders  or  estates  of 
policy-holders  over  one  hundred  million  dollars 
annually.  Only  a  very  small  and  almost  insignifi- 
cant portion  of  this  vast  sum  goes  into  the  hands 


TAKING  OUT  A  POLICY. 

of  colored  people,  and  for  the  reason  that  very  few 
colored  people  carry  life  insurance  policies. 

Now  use  a  little  common  sense  about  this  mat- 
ter. Whatever  is  good  in  life  insurance  for  other 
races  is  good  for  our  race;  whatever  in. life  insur- 
ance benefits  other  races  will  benefit  our  race.  In 


254   YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  INSURANCE. 

business  as  in  education,  whatever  is  good  for  a 
white  man  is  good  for  a  black  man.  I  would, 
therefore,  urge  every  boy  and  girl  to  join  a  life  in- 
surance company,  and  where  your  mothers  and 
fathers  are  not  insured  I  would  urge  you  to  do 
your  utmost  to  persuade  them  to  join  at  once. 

For  one  reason,  a  life  insurance  policy  is  not  ex- 
pensive. You  might  as  well  talk  of  the  expense  of 
buying  bank  stock,  or  the  expense  of  putting  your 
money  into  a  savings  bank  or  any  other  safe  place 
as  to  speak  of  the  expense  of  keeping  up  a  life 
insurance  policy.  It  is  accumulation  and  not  ex- 
pense. Every  dollar  put  into  .life  insurance  is  a 
dollar  saved  to  yourself  or  your  estate. 

For  another  reason  life  insurance  is  a  good  busi- 
ness investment.  Carefully  collected  statistics  on 
file  in  Washington  City  prove  that  investments 
in  life  insurance  are  much  safer  and  yield  much 
larger  returns  than  money  placed  in  a  savings 
bank.  "When  you  are  older  you  will  perhaps  be 
able  to  make  these  comparisons  for  yourself.  For 
the  present  you  can  take  my  word  for  it. 

A  third  reason,  life  insurance  is  cheap.  You  can 
in  an  instant  create  a  capital  of  $1,000,  though  you 
may  be  ever  so  poor,  by  laying  aside  only  a  few 
cents  a  week.  Young  people  chew  up  and  drink 
up  and  smoke  up  and  frolic  up  more  money  every 
week  than  would  be  sufficient  to  protect  them 
against  the  rainy  days  that  must  come  to  every- 
body. 

And,  then,  life  insurance  has  a  character  value. 


YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  INSURANCE.   255 

It  makes  a  young  man  a  better  man;  it  makes  a 
young  woman  a  better  woman;  that  is  to  Say,  it 
makes  them  more  economical,  more  business-like, 
happier,  and,  I  believe,  it  will  make  them  live 
longer. 

It  is  high  time  that  black  boys  and  girls  were 
learning  these  things  and  acting  upon  them.  When 
God  commanded  us  not  to  serve  money  a>%a  false 
god  He  did  not  say  that  money  could  not  serve  us, 
and  I  beseech  the  boys  and  girls,  and  the  old  peo- 
ple too,  to  exercise  the  same  foresight  and  the 
same  good  sense  about  life  insurance  that  other 
races  exercise. 


THE  LITTLE  SAILOR  CAT. 

In  September,  1893,  grouped  on  the  Fall  River 
Line  pier  at  the  foot  of  Warren  Street,  New  York, 
there  stood  a  party  of  twenty-three  sailors  wait- 
ing for  the  Puritan  to  take  them  on  to  Boston.  The 
central  figure  in  the  group— a  short,  thickset  man, 
with  bronzed  and  grizzled  moustache— stood  erect 
with  arms  folded  over  his  chest.  Upon  the  solid 
foundation  thus  made  nestled  a  little  white  kitten. 
The  man  and  the  kitten  were  the  Boston  contingent 
of  the  crew  of  the  steamship  City  of  Savannah, 
which  had  been  wrecked  the  week  before  on  Hunt- 
ing Island,  off  the  South  Carolina  coast. 

The  story  of  the  beaching  of  the  steamship  and 


256  THE  LITTLE   SAILOR  CAT. 

of  the  taking  off  of  her  crew  by  the  City  of  Birm- 
ingham had  been  told  in  all  the  newspapers,  but 
nothing  had  been  said  about  the  cat,  so  the  Boston 
Herald  said.  Before  the  shipwreck  the  cat  was 
nothing  more  than  an  ordinary  ship's  cat,  and  the 
captain  had  named  him  Mascot;  but  that  was  the 
end  of  his  distinction.  After  the  disaster,  never- 
theless, all  the  sailors  swore  that  the  kitten  was  as 
good  a  sailor  as  any  of  them. 

'  '  He's  a  wonder,"  said  the  short,  thickset  man, 
surveying  the  cat  proudly;  "nobody  thought  of 
him  in  the  rush,  but  he  got  there  just  the  same. 

He  climbed  the  rigging 
in  that  gale  like  an  old 
tar  and  held  on  for 
hours.  He  wasn't  a  bit 
frightened  either.  Only 
he  would  '  caterwaul' 

THE  LITTLE  SAII.OK  CAT. 


We  were  on  board  of  the  boat  fifty  hours  after 
she  struck  before  the  sea  was  such  that  we  could 
be  taken  off  in  boats.  At  night  the  captain 
ordered  all  the  crew  into  the  rigging  and  made  us 
stay  there.  We  each  took  a  piece  of  rope  and 
lashed  ourselves  on,  so  as  to  keep  from  falling 
off  when  asleep.  That  's  what  the  captain  said  the 
string  was  for,  but  I  never  slept  at  all.  I  don't 
think  many  others  did.  The  cat  got  along  without 
any  rope,  and  she  was  there  in  the  morning  all 
right.  When  we  got  away  at  last,  nearly  crazy 
with  thirst  and  so  faint  that  we  could  hardly 


THE  LITTLE   SAILOR  CAT. 


257 


climb  down  the  ' Jacob's  ladder'  into  the  Birm- 
ingham's boats,  that  little  fellow  climbed  out  of 
his  nest  in  the  rigging  and  wanted  to  go  too.  We 
were  glad  to  take  him." 


1.  Be  punctual  and  regular  at  all  the  sendees 
of  your  church. 

2.  Give  close  attention  to  the  pastor  in  the  pub- 
lic service.    Good  hearers  make  good  preachers. 

3.  Whenever  you  are  aided  by  a  sermon  tell 
the  pastor  about  it.    In  this  way  you  will  help  him 
more  than  you  think  possible. 


258        ADVICE   TO  .LITTLE   CHRISTIANS. 

4.  Do  not  neglect  morning  and  evening  prayer 
at  home.    Pray  daily  for  God's  blessing  upon  the 
preaching  and  other  labors  of  the  pastor. 

5.  In  the  world  let  your  light  so  shine  before 
others  that  they  may  be  led  to  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.    Let  your  light  shine. 

6.  Invite  your  friends  to  attend  divine  serv- 
ices.    A  drawing  congregation  is  as  good  as  a 
drawing  preacher.    Call  for  your  friends  often. 

7.  Eemember  day  by  day  that  you  are  not  your 
own,  but  have  been  "bought  with  a  price,"  and 
that  you  are  Christ 's  servant.    Watch  and  pray. 

8.  If  any  service  is  required    of   you   in   the 
church  or  in  the  Sunday  school,  do  not  shirk  it; 
always  say:  "I  will  try  for  Jesus'  sake." 

9.  In  the  prayer  meeting  speak  briefly  and  to 
the  point.     If  you  pray,  ask  only  for  what  you 
want.    Be  short  and  direct.     "Ask  and  ye  shall 
receive. ' ' 

10.  Never  subscribe  more  than  you  are  able  to 
pay,  and  be  sure  to  pay  whatever  you  promise. 
Whether  much  or  little,  give  it  cheerfully.    "God 
loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 

11.  Having  found  eternal  life,  use  all  appropri- 
ate means  to  develop  Christian  character.    Prayer, 
reading  the  Bible,  attending  church  and  Sunday 
school,  reading  good  books  and  Christian  news- 
papers, keeping  the  best  company— all  these  will 
help  you. 


A  WORD  TO  PAEENTS. 


Children  are  a  gift  from  God.  Children  are  a 
heritage  from  the  Lord.  It  depends  largely  on 
parents  whether  they  become  a  heritage  of  honor 

and  delight  or  of  sorrow 
and  shame.  It  is  not 
simply  incumbent  upon 
parents  that  their  chil- 
dren be  well  cared  for, 
fed  and  clothed,  proper- 
ly educated  and  so 
forth;  but  more  than 
this,  they  are  to  be 
brought  up  "in  the  nur- 
ture and  admonition  of 
the  Lord."  This  being 
true,  then,  the  highest 
aim  of  rearing  children 
is  not  simply  that  they 
may  win  success  and 
command  respect  in  the 
world.  Respect  and  suc- 
cess are  greatly  to  be  desired  and  sought,  but  be- 
yond them  and  beyond  everything  else  is  the  high- 
est and  chiefest  aim  of  parental  love  and  care; 
that  their  children  may  honor  and  command  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  the  life  that  now  is  and 
magnify  the  glory  of  God  in  the  life  that  is  to  be. 
This  is  the  mark  and  prize  of  their  high  calling. 

259 


"THE  DRUMMER  BOY  AND  His 
DOG." 


A  WORD   TO  PARENTS.  261 

Admitting  tliis,  then,  the  early  conversion  of 
children  is  all-important.  But  if  they  are  to  be 
early  converted,  is  it  not  wise— nay,  absolutely  es- 
sential—that mothers  and  fathers  prepare  the  way 
by  restricting  their  natural .  impulses  by  which 
they  are  led  to  desire  indulgence  in  the  gay  van- 
ities of  life!  Is  it  not  positively  wrong  for  parents 
to  indulge  that  pernicious  and  destructive  delu- 
sion, which  some  allow,  of  permitting  their  chil- 
dren to  have  their  own  evil  way  in  the  hope  that 
in  due  time  they  will  in  some  way  see  their  error 
and  turn  to  the  right  path  of  their  own  accord? 
Father,  you  are  a  Christian.  Mother,  you  are  a 
Christian.  Now,  in  your  home,  in  the  management 
of  your  children,  are  you  doing  the  best  you  can 
to  show  what  a  Christian  family  should  be  ?  How 
is  it,  my  friends  ?  I  leave  that  question  with  you. 


THE  UNSEEN  CHARMER. 

Carl  Brickermann,  a  collection  clerk  in  an  up- 
town bank,  in  his  accustomed  daily  routine  found 
it  necessary,  among  other  things,  to  call  by  tele- 
phone the  downtown  brokerage  firm  of  Hopegood 
&  Co.  One  day  he  missed  the  familiar  feminine 
voice  which  had  usually  responded  to  his  calls. 
But  the  new  voice  seemed  sweeter  and  much  more 
passionately  penetrating.  For  two  or  three  days 
Brickermann  was  puzzled,  not  only  because  of  the 
change  at  the  other  end  of  the  'phone,  but  also 
because  of  the  strange  and  unaccountable  fascina- 
tion which  the  new  voice  possessed  for  him.  At 
length  one  day,  almost  in  desperation,  he  turned 
aside  from  his  regular  business  inquiries  to  ask: 

"Where's  the  other  girl?" 

"Which  other  girl!"  asked  the  mellifluous  voice 
over  the  articulate  wire. 

' '  The  one  who  used  to  answer  the  'phone  for  the 
Hopegoods,"  explained  Brickermann. 

"Promoted,"  came  the  response,  with  a  merry 
little  laugh. 

"And  you  have  her  old  place?"  asked  Bricker- 
mann, somewhat  encouraged. 

"Yes;  for  awhile,"  said  the  same  still,  small 
voice  at  the  other  end,  and  it  sounded  more  and. 
more  sweetly  to  the  would-be  masher, 

262 


THE    UNSEEN    CHARMER.  263 

""Well,"  said  Brickermann,  laughing  the  while, 
"I  used  to  know  her  quite  well,  and  I  should  like 
to  meet  you  face  to  face,  if  you  don't  mind,  I  am 
so  charmed  with  the  music  of  your  voice  I  am  sure 


"Is  Er-Er-Mr.  Hopegood  In?" 

I  should  be  perfectly  entranced  with  the  magic  of  ' 
your  face." 

A  merry  peal  of  laughter  from  the  other,  end  / 
greeted  this  sally.  The  young  man  continued: 

"I  used  to  come  down  some  days  about  four 


264  THE    UNSEEN    CHARMER. 

o'clock  to  see  Margie.  Will  you,  my  Unseen 
Charmer,  grant  me  the  same  high  favor!" 

"Why,  certainly!  "  Come  any  day,"  answered 
the  sweet  voice  which  had  so  strangely  bewitched 
the  young  man.  In  ecstasy  Brickermann  shouted 
back: 

"I'll  be  down  this  afternoon." 

Brickermann  hung  up  the  receiver,  and,  chuck- 
ling with  delight,  he  turned  to  his  other  duties 
with  the  alacrity  that  a  young  spring  chicken  dis- 
plays when  it  suddenly  discovers  a  big  fat  worm. 

By  three-thirty  o'clock  he  had  arranged  his 
toilet,  and  stood  before  the  mirror  giving  the  fin- 
ishing twirl  to  his  budding  moustache.  He  brushed 
his  clothing  the  second  time,  brushed  his  hat,  and, 
figuratively  speaking,  arrayed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  he  sallied  forth.  He  boarded  an  elevated 
train  bound  for  the  downtown  district.  On  his 
way  down  he  tried  to  picture  to  himself  the  kind 
of  a  girl  he  should  meet  at  the  Hopegoods.  Would 
she  be  tall  or  short  of  stature!  Blonde  or  brunette? 
Above  twenty-one  years  of  age  or  only  sweet  six- 
teen! The  quick  arrival  of  the  train  at  Park  Place 
put  a  period  to  Brickermann 's  reverie.  He  went 
tripping  across  a  few  blocks  to  the  place  where  all 
of  his  hopes  had  been  centered  during  the  past  few 
hours— in  fact,  days.  Arrived  there,  he  stepped 
into  the  front  office  where  "Margie"  had  former- 
ly presided.  It  was  the  same  snug  and  cosy  room, 
but  he  failed  to  behold  there  the  eagerly  expected 
young  lady.  Instead  he  ran  amuck  a  chubby  little 


THE    UNSEEN    CHARMER.  265 

boy,  with  a  ruddy  face  and  curly  hair,  and  per- 
haps not  more  than  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old, 
sitting  in  "Margie's"  place. 

Brickermann  was  visibly  embarrassed.  He  did 
not  know  where  to  begin  or  what  to  say.  He 
twitched  nervously  at  the  glove  which  he  carried 
in  his  hand,  and  finally  he  stammered: 

"Is— er— Mr.  Hopegood  in?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  the  boy.  "Can  I  be  of  any  serv- 
ice to  you?" 

Brickermann 's  face  turned  blood  red,  and  great 
drops  of  perspiration  stood  out  upon  his  forehead. 
The  accents  of  the  little  boy  startled  him,  for  they 
were  the  same  that  had  been  wafted  to  him  almost 
daily  along  the  wire  and  with  which  he  thought 
he  had  been  enamored.  In  the  midst  of  his  con- 
fusion he  managed  to  say,  hoping  almost  against 
hope  that  his  identity  had  not  been  discovered: 

"Well,  er-er— I'll  call  again." 

And,  without  waiting  to  hear  the  Unseen  Charm- 
er speak  again,  he  hastily  retired  with  as  good 
grace  as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances. 


OUR  COUNTRY. 

Boys  and  girls,  we  are  all  American  citizens, 
the  last  one  of  us.  This  is  our  country,  as  much 
a.s  it  is  the  country  of  any  other  race,  ancl  WQ 


266  OUR  COUNTRY. 

should  love  it  and  fight  for  it  as  our  fathers  have 
loved,  fought  and  died  for  it  on  many  a  battle- 
field. We  may  be  the  descendants  of  Africans,  but 
we  are  citizens  of  the  United  States.  This  is  our 
home— our  country.  Let  us  believe  it,  in  spite  of 
what  some  foolish  people  say.  Therefore  I  am  go- 
ing to  give  you  one  or  two  sentiments  which  you 
should  learn  early  in  life  in  order  to  stimulate 
your  patriotism. 

1.  May  the  honor  of  our  country  be  without 
stain. 

2.  May  the  glory  of  America  never  cease  to 
shine. 

3.  May  every  American  manfully  withstand 
corruption. 

4.  May  reverence  for  the  laws  ever  predom- 
inate in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 

5.  The  sons  and  daughters  of  America,  may 
their  union  be  cemented  by  love  and  affection,  and 
their  offspring  adorn  the  stations  they  are  des- 
tined to  fill. 

6.  May   the    growth    of   the    American  union 
never  be  prevented  by  party  spirit. 

7.  The  boys  of  America,  may  they  be  strong 
and  virtuous,  manly  and  brave. 

8.  The  girls  of  America,  may  they  prove  to  be 
such  in  heart  and  life  as  will  make  them  worthy 
mothers  of  a  strong  and  noble  race. 

9.  Health  to  our  president,  prosperity  to  our 


OUR  COUNTRY.  267 

people,  and  may  Congress  direct  its  endeavors  to 
the  public  good. 
10.- 

May  Peace  o  'er  America  spread  her  wing, 
And  Commerce  fill  her  ports  with  gold; 
May  Arts  and  Science  comfort  bring, 
And  Liberty  her  sons  enfold. 


THE  "DON'T-CARE"  GIRL. 

About  the  worst  girl  in  all  this  world  is  the  girl 
who  doesn't  care  what  people  think  or  say  about 
her  conduct;  the  girl  who  goes  to  every  "hop,"  to 
every  party,  who  stays  out  late  at  night  with  the 
boys,  who  hangs  over  the  gate  and  talks  to  them, 
and  who  cuts  a  number  of  foolish  capers,  and  then 
when  any  one  speaks  to  her,  shoots  her  head  'way 
up  in  the  air,  and  turns  up  her  nose,  if  she  can,  and 
says  boldly:  "Oh,  I  don't  care;  nobody  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  me!"  She  is  the  worst  girl  in 
the  world,  and  she  will  never  come  to  any  good 
end.  Every  girl  who  is  a  law  unto  herself  in  re- 
gard to  all  that  she  says  or  does  is  certain  not 
only  to  bring  upon  herself  the  condemnation  of 
those  whose  good  opinion  it  is  worth  while  to 
have,  but  she  will  most  certainly  incur  the  pun- 
ishment of  a  just  God.  And  sometimes,  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  I  think  that  when  a  girl  proudly  declares 
that  she  doesn't  care  for  the  good  opinion  of  others 


268 


THE    "DON'T-CARE"   GIRL. 


she  does  so    because    she    knows    that    she  has 
already  lost  all  right  to  that  good  opinion. 

It  is  wrong,  boys  and  girls,  to  undertake  to  run 
roughshod  over  the  so-called  prejudices  of  the  pub- 


THE  "DON'T-CARE"  GIRL. 


lie.  It  is  a  foolish  thing  to  take  delight  in  trying 
to  shock  people  by  your  boisterous  and  unladylike 
and  unbecoming  conduct.  Every  really  wise  and 
nice  girl  does  care  a  good  deal  for  the  good,opiu* 


THE    "DON'T-CARE"   GIRL.  260 

ion  of  others,  and  particularly  for  the  good  opin- 
ion of  persons  older  than  she  is.  She  recognizes 
the  fact  that  the  laws  of  conventionality  and  of 
good  society  are  based  upon  what  is  right  and 
what  is  proper,  and  that  no  girl  can  with  propriety 
set  them  at  naught. 

Some  girls  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  they  ' '  don 't 
care"  what  their  own  fathers  and  mothers  think. 
The  wild  girl  who  says  this  is  setting  at  defiance 
not  only  the  human  parental  law,  but  also  the  law 
of  God,  which  plainly  commands  children  to  obey 
their  parents. 

Haven't  you  ever  seen  a  " don 't-care ' '  girl!  She 
is  nearly  always  reckless  in  manner  and  speech ; 
she  is  bold  and  defiant;  she  is  impudent  beyond 
mention;  and  she  is  very  fond  of  ridiculing  girls 
who  do  care  a  great  deal  what  others  think  about 
them. 

No  matter  whose  children  they  are — no  matter 
what  schools  they  have  attended— these  "don't- 
care ' '  girls  are  no  good,  and  good  girls  ought  not 
to  associate  with  them.  Every  day  such  flippant 
girls  are  treading  on  dangerous  ground,  and  some 
day,  unless  a  merciful  God  prevents  it,  she  will 
come  to  open  disgrace  and  die  and  go  to  torment. 
I  am  hoping  to  see  the  day  when  all  the  "don't- 
care"  girls  will  have  passed  out  of  existence,  and 
then  all  our  girls  will  be  of  the  refined  and  woman- 
ly kind  who  do  care  a  great  deal  about  their  con- 
duct, their  manners  and  their  morals.  I  don't 
want  my  daughter  to  associate  with  any  other 
kind. 


A  PRAYER. 

As  the  potter  moulds  the  clay, 
Slowly,  gently,  day  by  day, 
Till  at  length  he  brings  to  pass 
Beauty  from  a  shapeless  mass; 

So,  dear  Lord,  with  patient  art, 
Take  Thou,  now,  my  forward  heart, 
And,  0  Lord,  in  love  divine, 
Mould  and  make  me  wholly  thine. 


FREDERICK    DOUGLASS    TO    YOUNG 
PEOPLE. 

Shortly  before  he  died  Frederick  Douglass  made 
a  tour  through  the  South.  Among  other  places  he 
visited  Atlanta  University.  At  that  place  he  made 
an  .address  to  the  young  people.  It  is  so  full  of 
hope  and  help  that  I  wanted  to  place  it  where 
every  ambitious  black  boy  and  girl  in  America 
can  see  it.  It  has  never  been  published  before, 
except  in  the  Bulletin  of  Atlanta  University.  Mr. 
Douglass  said: 

' '  My  young  friends :  I  see  before  me  an  assem- 
blage of  young  people,  full  of  the  blood  of  youth, 
just  entering  upon  the  voyage  of  life.  It  is  an  in- 
teresting spectacle  to  me,  as  to  us  all,  to  meet  such 
an  assembly  as  I  see  before  me  this  morning  in 
an  institution  of  learning,  of  knowledge,  and  of 
ethics  and  of  Christian  graces.  I  experience  great 

270 


DOUGLASS   TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE.         271 

pleasure  in  what  I  see  to-day.  There  is  no  language 
to  describe  my  feelings.  It  was  no  mere  image 
that  John  saw  and  described  in  the  apocalypse. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 


It  was  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  indeed.  When 
I  look  back  upon  the  time  when  I  was  a  fugitive 
slave  I  recollect  the  evils  and  cruelty  of  slave- 


272         DOUGLASS  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

hunting.  No  mountain  was  so  high,  no  valley  was 
so  deep,  no  glen  so  secluded,  no  place  so  sacred  to 
liberty  that  I  could  put  my  foot  upon  it  and  say 
I  was  free!  But  now  I  am  free!  Contrasting  my 
condition  then  and  now  the  change  exceeds  what 
John  saw  upon  the  isle  of  Patmos.  A  change  vast 
and  wonderful,  that  came  by  the  fulfilling  of  laws. 
We  got  freed  by  laws,  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  Men, 
brave  men,  good  men,  who  had  the  courage  of 
their  convictions,  were  arrested  and  subjected  to 
persecutions,  mobs,  lawlessness,  violence.  They 
had  the  conviction  of  truth.  Simple  truth  lasts 
forever! 

"Be  not  discouraged.  There  is  a  future  for  you 
and  a  future  for  me.  The  resistance  encountered 
now  predicates  hope.  The  negro  degraded,  in- 
dolent, lazy,  indifferent  to  progress,  is  not  objec- 
tionable to  the  average  public  mind.  Only  as  we 
rise  in  the  scale  of  proficiency  do  we  encounter 
opposition.  "When  we  see  a  ship  that  lies  rotting 
in  the  harbor,  its  seams  yawning,  its  sides  broken 
in,  taking  water  and  sinking,  it  meets  with  no  op- 
position; but  when  its  sails  are  spread  to  the 
breeze,  its  top-sails  and  its  royals  flying,  then  there 
is  resistance.  The  resistance  is  in  proportion  to 
its  speed.  In  Memphis  three  negro  men  were 
lynched,  not  because  they  were  low  and  degraded, 
but  because  they  knew  their  business  and  other 
men  wanted  their  business. 

"I  am  delighted  to  see  you  all.  Don't  be  des- 
pondent. Don't  measure  yourselves  from  the  white 


DOUGLASS   TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE.         273 

man's  standpoint;  but  measure  yourselves  by  the 
depths  from  which  you  have  come.  I  measure 
from  these  depths,  and  I  see  what  Providence  has 
done.  Daniel  Webster  said  in  his  speech  at  the 
dedication  of  Bunker  Hill  monument: ' Bunker  Hill 
monument  is  completed.  There  it  stands,  a  me- 
morial of  the  past,  a  monitor  of  the  present,  a 
hope  of  the  future.  It  looks,  speaks,  acts!'  So 
this  assembly  is  a  monitor  of  the  present,  a  memo- 
rial of  the  past,  a  hope  of  the  future.  I  see  boys 
and  girls  around  me.  Boys,  you  will  be  men  some 
day.  Girls,  you  will  be  women  some  day.  May 
you  become  good  men  and  women,  intelligent  men 
and  women,  a  credit  to  yourselves  and  your  coun- 
try. 

"I  thank  you  for  what  I  have  experienced  to- 
day and  I  leave  you  reluctantly,  and  shall  always 
carry  with  me  the  pleasantest  impressions  of  this 
occasion. " 


A    GOOD    FELLOW. 

He  was  a  good  fellow. 

He  spent  his  money  like  a  Prince. 

There  was  nothing  too  good  for  him  to  do  for 
those  with  whom  he  kept  company. 

He  lived  rapidly,  and  had  no  thought  of  to-mor- 
row. He  burned  the  candle  of  life  at  both  ends. 

To-day  he  is  dead,— and  those  vampires  who 
sucked  his  life  7s  blood  and  helped  him  to  spend  his 
money  have  no  time  to  give  him  one  thought. 

Ah,  how  insincere  and  empty  is  the  title  of 
"good  fellow"  when  it  is  applied  to  the  man  whose 
money  is  always  on  tap  for  those  who  are  desirous 
of  having  a  good  time !  And  how  corrupt  and  un- 
desirable are  the  so-called  friendships  which 
spring  from  a  lavish  expenditure  of  money!  Boys, 
the  roof  over  your  heads  covers  the  best  friends 
you  could  possibly  have  on  earth.  Those  who  slap 
you  on  the  shoulder  and  say  hilariously,  "Good 
boy ! ' '  are  seldom  ever  worth  their  salt.  They  like 
you  for  what  they  can  get  out  of  you— that's  all! 

Eeal  happiness  in  this  world  comes,  if  at  all, 
from  living  right  and  doing  right.  If  you  are  a 
good  fellow  in  the  sense  of  giving  everybody  a 
"good  time"  with  your  hard-earned  means,  I 
warn  you  that,  when  your  money  gives  out,  all 
your  friends  will  desert  you,  and  when  you  die 

274 


A   GOOD   FELLOW.  275 

they  will  be  the  last  ones  to  come  near  you,  and 
may  even  laugh  at  what  a  fool  you  made  of  your- 
self! 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  NEGRO, 

My  dear  boys  and  girls,  I  have  written  nearly 
one  hundred  stories  for  this  book  and  I  have  not 
said  one  word  about  the  so-called  Eace  Problem. 
I  have  done  this  on  purpose.  I  believe  that  the  less 
you  think  about  the  troubles  of  the  race  and  the 
less  you  talk  about  them  and  the  more  time  you 
spend  in  hard  and  honest  work,  believing  in  God 
and  trusting  him  for  the  future,  the  better  it  will 
be  for  all  concerned.  I  know,  of  course,  that  the 
sufferings  which  are  inflicted  upon  the  colored 
people  in  this  country  are  many  and  grievous.  I 
know  that  we  are  discriminated  against  in  many 
ways— on  common  carriers,  in  public  resorts  and! 
even  in  private  life.  The  right  to  vote  is  being 
taken  away  from  us  in  nearly  all  the  Southern 
states.  Lynchings  are  on  the  increase.  Not  only 
our  men  but  our  women  also  are  being  burned  at 
the  stake.  What  shall  we  do  I  There  are  those 
who  say  that  we  must  strike  back— usa  fire  and 
torch  and  sword  and  shotgun  ourselves.  But  I  tell 
you  plainly  that  we  cannot  afford  to  do  that.  The 
white  people  have  all  the  courts,  all  the  railroads, 


276          THE   FUTURE   OF   THE   NEGRO. 

all  the  newspapers,  all  the  telegraph  wires,  all  the 
arms  and  ammunition  and  double  the  men  that  we 
have.  In  every  race  riot  the  negro  would  get  the 
worst  of  it  finally.  But  there  is  a  higher  reason 
than  that.  We  cannot  afford  to  do  wrong.  We 
cannot  afford  to  lose  our  decency,  our  self-respect, 
our  character.  No  man  will  ever  be  the  superior 
of  the  man  he  robs;  no  man  will  ever  be  the 
superior  of  the  man  he  steals  from.  I  would  rather 
be  a  victim  than  a  victimizer.  I  would  rather  be 
wronged  than  to  do  wrong.  And  no  race  is 
superior  to  the  race  it  tramples  upon,  robs,  mal- 
treats and  murders.  In  spite  of  prejudice;  in  spite 
of  proscription;  in  spite  of  nameless  insults  and 
injuries,  we  cannot  as  a  race,  afford  to  do  wrong. 
But  we  can  afford  to  be  patient.  God  is 
not  dead.  His  chariots  are  not  unwheeled. 
It  is  ordained  of  God  that  races,  as  well 
as  individuals,  shall  rise  through  tribulations. 
And  during  this  period  of  stress  and  strain 
through  which  we  are  passing  in  this  country  I 
believe  that  there  are  unseen  forces  marshalled  in 
the  defense  of  our  long-suffering  and  much-op- 
pressed people.  "They  that  be  with  us  are  more 
than  they  that  be  with  them."  What  should  we 
care,  then,  though  all  the  lowlands  be  filled  with 
threats,  if  the  mountains  of  our  hope  and  cour- 
age and  patience  are  filled  with  horses  and 
chariots  of  Divine  rescue! 


THE    TRAINING    OF    CHILDREN. 

My  last  words  shall  be  to  parents.  Many  par- 
ents neglect  the  training  of  their  children  until 
the  boys  and  girls  have  grown  to  be  almost  men 
and  women,  and  then  they  expect  all  at  once  to 
develop  them  into  well-rounded  characters,  as  if 
by  magic.  Others  fix  upon  a  definite  time  in  life— 
say,  ten  or  twelve  years  old— before  which  time 
they  say  it  is  unnecessary  to  seek  to  make  lasting 
impressions  upon  the  minds  of  children,  all  uncon- 
scious of  the  fact  that  the  character  may  have 
been  long  before  that  period  biased  for  good  or 
evil. 

I  say  it  deliberately— it  is  a  deep  and  abiding 
conviction  with  me,  that  the  time  to  begin  to 
shape  the  character  of  children  is  as  soon  as  they 
begin  to  know  their  own  mothers  from  other 
mothers,  or  as  soon  as  they,  become  awake  to  the 
events  which  are  taking  place  around  them.  The 
farmer  who  has  the  notion  that  his  child  can  wait, 
does  not  dare  to  let  his  corn  and  cotton  wait.  He 
has  observed  that  there  are  noxious  weeds  which 
spring  up  side  by  side  with  the  seed  he  has 
planted,  and,  marvelous  to  say,  the  weeds  out- 
grow the  plants.  They  must,  therefore,  be  cut 
down  and  kept  down,  or  else  they  will  ruin  the 

crop. 

277 


278  THE   TRAINING   OF    CHILDREN, 

Side  by  side  with  your  tender  babe  in  arms 
there  are  growing  now,  dear  mothers,  the  poison- 
ous tares.  They  are  rooted  already  in  the  child's 
heart,  and,  unless  they  are  stricken  down  pretty 
soon,  they  will  dominate  the  child's  life.  And,  of 
course,  there  is  only  one  way  to  destroy  evil— that 
is,  to  plant  good  in  its  stead.  If  there  is  one  un- 
tenanted  chamber  in  your  child's  heart,  inhabit 
it,  I  pray  you,  with  nobler  and  purer  thoughts 
which  before  long  shall  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
God.  Satan  does  not  wait,  I  assure  you;  he  never 
allows  a  vacancy  to  remain  unoccupied  in  any- 
body's heart,  old  or  young.  He  rushes  into  empty 
hearts  and  idle  lives  and  sows  tares  thicker  than 
the  strewn  leaves  of  autumn.  It  is  an  old  and 
senseless  and  barbarian  custom  which  has  taught 
us  that  the  child  can  wait  or  must  wait.  If  any- 
body must  wait  at  table  to  be  served,  it  is  usually 
the  little  child,  who  may  be  the  hungriest  of  all; 
if  some  one  must  remain  away  from  church  or 
Sunday-school,  it  is  often  the  youngest  child,  who 
perhaps  needs  most  to  go;  if  some  one  must  be 
kept  out  of  the  day-school,  it  is  the  smallest  child, 
of  course;  and  during  the  year  that  he  remains 
idle  he  may  receive  impressions  and  learn  lessons 
that  will  mar  his  whole  future  life.  Let  us  have 
done  with  this  barbaric  practice.  Make  room  for 
the  children;  give  them  not  only  the  first  place  but 
the  best  place. 

In  almost  any  city  in  the  South  any  Sunday  in 
the  year  you  will  find  more  children— more  boys 


THE   TRAINING   OF    CHILDREN.          279 

and  girls— outside  of  the  Sunday-schools  than  you 
will  find  inside.  There  is  a  loud  and  crying  call 
sounding  from  the  past  and  from  the  future  and 
bidding  mothers  and  fathers  to  be  more  diligent 
in  the  matter  of  having  their  children  embrace 
opportunities  of  growth  and  spiritual  culture 
which  are  almost  within  a  stone 's  throw.  If 
mothers  and  fathers  will  not  hear  and  obey  this 
clarion  call  I  believe  that  they  will  be  brought  to 
account  for  it  in  the  day  of  judgment.  Not  only 
so,  but  in  the  years  to  come  they  will  be  compelled 
to  wail  out  their  sorrow  over  prodigal  sons  and 
daughters  who  might  have  proven  to  be  orna- 
ments to  society  and  to  the  church  if  their  parents 
had  devoted  half  the  care  upon  them  that  they 
expended  upon  colts  and  calves,  kittens  and  pup- 
pies that  grew  up  with  them! 

In  all  earnestness  I  implore  those  to  whom  God 
has  given  winsome  little  children  to  begin  early, 
as  early  as  thy  find  it  possible,  to  train  their 
young  lives  for  God  and  heaven.  Let  their  little 
voices  learn  early  to  lisp  the  precious  name  of 
Jesus  and  be  attuned  to  sing  His  praise.  If  you 
leave  them  this  legacy— than  which  there  is  none 
greater— there  will  come  peace  and  joy  to  your 
old  age,  and  the  light  of  heaven,  like  the  golden 
glow  of  a  radiant  sunset,  will  rest  on  your  dying 
bed. 

And  now,  as  I  close  these  stories,  there  comes  to 
me  across  the  intervening  space  of  silence  and  of 
tears  fond  memories  of  a  sweet  and  patient 


280  THE   TRAINING   OF   CHILDREN. 

mother.  I  cannot  remember  when  she  began  to 
talk  to  me  of  Jesus  nor  read  to  me  the  word  of 
God.  I  remember  well  when  she  taught  me  how  to 
read,  and  the  old-fashioned  blue  back  spelling- 
book  is  as  plainly  before  me  now  as  in  those  long 
past  days.  But,  long  before  that,  I  had  heard  her 
read  the  Bible  and  raise  her  voice  in  prayer  for  all 
whom  she  loved.  And  to-day  those  memories  live 
when  a  thousand  busy  scenes  of  after  life  lie  dead. 
And  when  old  age  comes  on— if  God  should  spare 
me  to  be  old— the  memory  of  my  mother's  words 
and  her  reverential  prayers  will  be  the  brightest 
of  all  the  joys  that  shall  light  up  the  evening  of 
my  life. 

THE    END. 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


